Into the Storm

Scripture: Lamentations 3:30-32

Introduction

Have you ever seen a storm out West? Storms out there can be sudden and often intense with the open landscape offering few opportunities for shelter. The big, blue Montana sky fills with dark rolling clouds so quickly that it can somehow make you feel claustrophobic. Some animals, like goats, will turn and attempt to outrun the storm. If you’ve ever seen a herd of goats on the move, you know they won’t outpace much of anything. They get tired and scattered and inevitably swallowed up by the bad weather. Their attempts to escape can even end up prolonging their exposure to the storm. Other animals, like cows, will just lie down or herd up together tightly to simply endure the storm as best they can until it finally moves on. 

The buffalo, however, will walk directly into the storm. By turning into the storm, buffalo square up their shoulders, assuring the strongest footing against the wind and weather. They also limit their exposure to the storm by passing straight through it. Buffalo still have to deal with the raging storms just like the rest of the animals on the plains, but their adapted response helps to minimize the effects and longevity of the storms for them. 

Storms in nature can be scary. There is nothing worse than getting caught in a bad lightning storm (except if sharks and heights are also involved somehow—full‑blown nightmare scenario!). However, the various storms of life—whether brought on by a medical diagnosis, trauma, a bad decision, loss, heartache, or a situation we never saw coming—can be straight‑up terrifying. If the dumpster fire known as 2020 taught us anything, it is that storms can come out of nowhere and impact everything. Life’s storms can be sudden and intense, and just like out on the plains, we find few opportunities for shelter or reprieve. So the question is: How do we respond? Do we run till we tire and break from exhaustion like the goats? Do we just lie down, hoping things will pass quickly like the cows? Or do we adapt our response, square our shoulders, and choose to take storms head‑on like the buffalo? 

I have faced many storms in my life. I am well acquainted with suffering, pain, disappointment, and heartache. Despite my best efforts I cannot control life’s storms, but I can control my response to them. I decided a long time ago that I am done trying to ignore the storms. I will run into the storm knowing that even when the rain is hammering down and the wind is at its worst, God is my guide and my shelter. 

Don’t run from trouble. Take it full‑face. The “worst” is never the worst. Why? Because the Master won’t ever walk out and fail to return. If he works severely, he also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense (Lamentations 3:30‑32 MSG). 

Unfortunately, storms in life are more a matter of when than if. I hate those words even as I write them. I wish I could promise life would be perfect for all of us—nothing but sunshine and roses—but that is simply not reality. We all will face difficulties at one point or another. The question is: In which direction will you run?

Scripture: Job 42:1-3

Storms

Storms and struggles are an inescapable part of life. From the moment people came on the scene, pain and suffering followed quickly after. Sin, sickness, and death showed up in the garden of Eden, and ever since our world has been plagued by their effects. The resiliency of mankind is continually tested by how we face down storms, both those caused by nature and those caused by our sinful nature. Human history is full of trials, triumphs, and tragedy. 

When the storms of life feel as though they are breaking you, and you are struggling to put one foot in front of the other, being told “You can’t possibly understand what is going on” does not diminish your problems or pain. It does not explain away the heartbreak, and it does not ease the impact of the storm. It can, however, help us shift our perspective and come to terms with the fact that there are many, many things in life we will not understand. 

In Job 42:1-3, Job realizes how finite his understanding is when he is confronted by an infinite God. Job could not possibly have the right perspective or understanding of what God was doing because he is not God. Fortunately, we do not have to understand everything because we have a God who does. 

If our focus is only on our happiness, our ease, or our comfort zones, then when the storms of life take us beyond them, we will be completely disoriented. If we are only concerned with the here and now, then our perspective is far too limited. Once we’re in heaven and look back on our lives, I suspect we will be much more thankful for the valleys than the mountains and for the storms that showed us more of who God is and brought us closer to Him. The great author and theologian C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”* 

The heartbreak, suffering, and wrestling in the book of Job show us it is okay for our faith to be messy at times because life is messy. Our path through the storm may not always be straightforward. At times we will push ahead with resolve and determination only to have fear, doubt, or the longevity of it all knock us back. Keep going. Keep praying, even when the words are hard to say. God responds to our prayers—the ones whispered in the dark of night, the ones shouted in anger, the broken ones muttered in between tears, and the ones that end in a question mark. 

Hardships will make you better or they will make you worse, but they will not leave you as you are. Storms and suffering demand change; they demand a response. We can try to run from them, or we can square our shoulders and face them head‑on. The only thing we cannot do is try to ignore them or avoid them; opting out is not really an option. We have little control over the different hardships we face in life, but we can control how we respond to them. What will your response be? Will you walk away from God and try to weather the storm alone? Will you wrestle? Will you worship? Take some time to read and study the book of Job for yourself. There are so many relatable moments, challenging thoughts, and words of wisdom in those chapters. Hopefully you will be inspired by them like I have been—to boldly walk into the storm, to draw near to God with real and raw prayers, and to hold more tightly to God than to your questions. 

Scripture: Romans 7:18-19

The Storm of Self

All sorts of storms can happen in life; however, not all storms come from external sources. At times we can be the storm in our own lives, like a tornado leaving damage and destruction everywhere we go. Our decisions, emotions, poor choices, and sin nature can spiral out of control and devastate everything around us. The apostle Paul candidly wrote about the destructive sin nature within himself in Romans 7. He said, “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway” (Romans 7:18-19). If you are anything like me, then I am sure at times you have looked back on something you have done and thought, What is wrong with me? It is because, as Paul said in Romans 7:14, “The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.” Unfortunately, all of us are “all too human.” 

Sometimes we make flat-out horrible, big, bold sinful choices. But typically, there is a gradual buildup to a life-damaging storm of self. The wind picks up slowly with a series of small, bad choices that eventually lead to big mistakes and major destruction. Most people do not wake up and think, I’m going to ruin my life today, or even, I’m going to sin today. Most of the time we make small compromises that build over time and land us in compromising situations where we end up wondering how in the world everything went so sideways. 

There is a commonly understood principle in aviation called the 1 in 60 rule. It states that for each single degree of error in heading over a distance of 60 miles, the aircraft will go approximately one full mile off course. This means that in the short two‑hour flight from Atlanta to New York City, one degree of variation in course direction could land you more than 13 miles away from your intended destination. You could be planning to land at LaGuardia Airport but end up in Jersey or in the Atlantic Ocean. 

It is not our intentions that lead us to a destination, but our decisions. You can have the best intentions in the world, but if you make poor decisions, you will not end up at your intended destination. Chances are that if you find yourself far from where you want to be, it is not because of a single sharp turn. Instead, it was a series of small degree errors in direction that eventually led you completely off course. 

Despite your mistakes and sin, your heavenly Father is waiting with open arms for you to come home. Despite your brokenness and filth, your heavenly Father sees you and knows who you really are. There is no sin or shame too great for His grace to cover. There is no accuser that can refute His mercy and love. There is no prodigal He will not run to and embrace. 

Scripture: Luke 8:22-25

The Storm of Fear

Faith is the antidote for fear. I understand how this sentiment might sound to some of you. I get it, and I am not saying faith is easy by any means. I have been in the middle of a living nightmare and had well‑meaning people tell me to just have a little faith. None of us want what feel like bumper‑sticker answers from distant bystanders when we are in the middle of a very real hardship or storm. I am not saying this to belittle or gloss over your fear—but I do want to point out the simple truth that fear and faith do not coexist well. They create friction when they attempt to occupy the same space; one will always try to displace the other. We must actively choose which one to let run wild and which one to restrain. Fear is easy, but we have to fight for faith. So how do we do that? One way is to immerse ourselves in the Word of God. It is truth. It is the absolute we can cling to in the middle of our uncertainty. 

Even when the storms of life rage all around you, you can remember who is in the boat with you. Remember His faithfulness. Remember everything He has done. If the disciples had remembered the power and authority of the One who was with them in the boat in Luke 8, they might have viewed Jesus’s cat‑nap a little differently. Jesus is in this with us, and as Christians we can take our cues from His demeanor in the storm. Our Savior never panics. Our King is not tossed about by the wind and the waves. Let comfort and confidence flow from His posture. He is not pacing, sweating, laboring, or freaking out. He is seated on the throne with nothing and no one having even the slightest possibility of dethroning Him. Remind yourself who He is and what He has done. Make a mental list and write it down so you don’t forget. Maybe your list does not seem as spectacular as the one the disciples had in Luke; after all, you probably haven’t personally witnessed Jesus healing a man from leprosy. That is okay. If you woke up today with breath in your lungs and with a future and hope rooted in eternity—that is a pretty spectacular list right there. 

Maybe you are in a season of life where it seems like the wind is howling and you feel like you are sinking. I know how it feels when fear keeps crashing in like waves, filling up your boat faster than you can empty it. But you are not alone. Remember the Miracle Maker is with you. Take your cues from His demeanor in the storm. Remind yourself of the goodness, faithfulness, love, and grace He has shown you in the past. Pray—ask God to show you miracles you have not noticed before, or to remind you of the ones you have lost sight of. Big and small, they are littered throughout all of our stories. Write them down. If you are having trouble getting started, then start with the cross. There is no more powerful miracle and no better picture of God’s faithfulness and love than that. When fear fills your thoughts and steals your courage, speak out your faith even if your voice trembles. Cast down anything that tries to eclipse your view of His faithfulness, His power, His magnitude. In your storm, cling to the One the wind and the waves obey.

Scripture: Revelation 21:4

The Storm of Grief

Grief is one of the most avoided, painful, and difficult topics to discuss. Grief is not a fleeting storm, but a long‑lasting one that unfortunately tends to stick with us. Healing from a significant loss is a process, and you will always be in some part of that process. It is not a straightforward, linear progression either, but one that ebbs and flows. Healing will occur and the volume will be lowered over time, but the grief will still play softly in the background. Big holidays, significant moments, as well as tiny reminders like a smell or a song can trigger your grief even years after a loss, blaring the volume again without warning. Be patient with the process, acknowledging that some days will be harder than others—and that is okay. 

In the storm of grief, the if‑onlys, pain, and loss will inevitably break into our thoughts. We need the hope, authority, and resurrection power of the risen Savior. Some days, the if‑onlys, pain, and loss will break our hearts into pieces. We need the compassion, sympathy, and humanity of Jesus. Simply put, we need Jesus in our storm of grief. He is the miraculous blending of deity with human vulnerability. He is not just sovereign; He is also sympathetic. He is power and peace. He is creator and comforter. He is what we need when our thoughts and hearts feel fractured. 

Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” One day there will be no more death, pain, sorrow, or loss. One day there will be no more grief. The future hope we have in Jesus is incredible beyond words. 

Give your grief to God. Let Him speak into and soothe your sorrow as you continue to come to Him with your pain. The safest place for the hurting and broken parts of you is in the presence of your gracious and loving heavenly Father. The best place to process the anger and agony of your grief is with your compassionate and understanding Savior. The most healing place for your pain is in the tender and comforting presence of the Holy Spirit. 

Giving our grief to God means letting Him ease the burden that sits so heavy on our chest so we can slowly and surely start taking deeper breaths again. It means processing our pain with Him so He can gently stitch up our gaping wounds. Giving our grief to God means allowing the power and peace of the King of kings to slowly dethrone the tyrants our pain and emotions have become. It means letting Jesus speak into and calm the storm of grief that rages in and around us. It means giving Him our painful and ugly emotions—not so they are somehow less ugly, but so they take on the added beauty of someday helping other people. 

The storm of grief can feel unbearable, but you do not have to bear it alone. Jesus will meet you in your pain, bringing with Him the power and revelation of His divinity as well as the compassion and sympathy of His humanity. Keep charging the storm. An amazing future hope waits for you on the other side, and amazing grace will meet you right here and now in the middle of the storm.

Scripture: 1 John 1:8-9

The Storm of Shame

Shame is the intensely painful feeling that we are broken, damaged, or flawed. It grows like a weed out of our emotions and wraps itself around our thoughts. We start living with shame‑based thinking that morphs into a shame‑based identity. Without realizing it, we can take something we did or something that was done to us and connect it to who we are. We begin to define ourselves by our failures, which sets shame up to be the driving force in our lives. This mindset tricks us into thinking we are defined by our worst day, by our greatest mistake, or our most recent failure. 

The opposite is also true. Shame can fool us into basing our identity on our accomplishments, creating in us a soul‑crushing need to achieve, to perform. Striving is how we medicate the pain of feeling like we are not enough; it is how we justify our worth and silence the fear of letting others down. Our shame is reinforced when we cannot be or do everything. But even Jesus, the incarnate Savior, could not be everywhere, do everything, please everyone, or meet everyone’s expectations. If the only perfect person to ever live did not and could not please everyone, then what chance do we have? When our identities are constantly tossed about by the rise and fall of our accomplishments, then we will always be bruised, battered, and worn‑out from the effort of it all. 

Jesus is the answer to our shame. When shame forces us into hiding, God does much more than just call out to us. He comes looking for us. He has sought us out by sending His Son to cover us with His grace, to remove our shame, and to restore our joy. Jesus took away our guilt, our sin, and our shame on the cross of Calvary 

First John 1:8‑9 tells us, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” We are only fooling ourselves when we try to deny our sin or hide in our shame. Ignoring it or hiding it makes us feel like imposters, which will only lead us to feel even more shame. But when we stop hiding and confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just. He is lovingly waiting to help us trade our sin, shame, and fig leaves for mercy, forgiveness, and amazing grace. 

The storm of shame is formidable, but you can make it through to the other side. You may need time, counseling, and support. It may be a daily struggle, but the mercy of God is on your side and will not lose out in this fight. When shame tries to make you feel unworthy and lacking, remind yourself that God found you worth sending His one and only Son to rescue and redeem. When the storm of shame bombards you with lies and condemnation, hold tight to grace and truth. And when the storm of shame tries to speak to who you were or what was done to you, remind yourself who you are in Christ. You have been sought out, fought for, ransomed, redeemed, and rescued.

Scriptures: John 16:33, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17

The Silver Lining

I’m sure you are familiar with this well-known saying: “Every cloud has a silver lining.” The silver lining is the thin glow of light that appears when a dark cloud is backlit by the sun. It is visible proof that light exists somewhere beyond the gloom, that the sun is still shining even if it is currently obscured by the clouds. The same is true for the storm clouds of life. No matter how dark and stormy they may be, there is a silver lining. This is not just blind optimism, and I am by no means saying this to minimize or dismiss the very real pain and hardships you may be experiencing right now. Jesus did not mince His words in John 16:33 when He said, “In this world you will have trouble” (NIV). We live in a fallen and broken world. Therefore, things will threaten to break us, overwhelm us, and take us out. But a day is coming when the wind will die down and the rain will give way to blue skies, when the pain will fade and the hurt will not haunt us anymore. Our suffering will eventually come to end, either on this side of heaven or the next. No matter how big, dark, and terrifying the storm, it cannot and will not last forever. 

In Romans 8, Paul wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 NIV). And then in 2 Corinthians, he also wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV). 

First, let me say that to most of us who find ourselves currently in a storm, these verses can seem almost insulting. Nothing about my troubles feels “light and momentary.” If Paul were to say this to me personally, I would be much more inclined to argue with him than amen him. However, the frustrating nature of these statements does not change their validity. The storm cloud is, in fact, nothing compared to the sun. One is a constant that has spanned countless millennia while the other is a momentary weather front. I fully understand how the storms of life can seem all‑encompassing and far too long‑lasting, but an eternal peace exists beyond this fleeting forecast of trouble. The size and scale of the two are so vastly different that they do not merit comparison. So, on the days when it hurts to hope, when the pain clouds your vision and the suffering threatens to break you, let Paul’s words remind you that what may seem like a small sliver of hope today will one day become a blinding, all‑encompassing glory that will, in turn, entirely block out the storm clouds. 

The finished work of the cross has secured our future hope. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and prepares a place for those who put their faith in Him. Jesus is dead set and determined in His desire for our eternity to be with Him. Our silver lining is not just that our destination is heaven, but also that we are not alone on the journey. The power and presence of the Holy Spirit is with us here and now. Our hope is not in some far‑off future but in an ever‑present and loving God who will neither leave us nor forsake us along the way.