Turning to God through our storms

In life, there are a lot of storms. Sometimes it feels that we have been through and are going through so many storms, that it is unimaginable to face another one. While other times, we live without storms, but we’re just waiting for the next to arise. It’s really easy to fall into the idea that because we are Christians our storms will disappear. We tend to go through the motions of life and turn to God on Sundays, when we go to church. It’s not until things get tough in life that we turn to God for a relationship.

Matthew 8:23-27: “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

This story in Matthew shows how the disciples fell into this lie as well. They freaked out, just like we do. The easy thing to believe is that just because Jesus is in the boat with us, we won’t have any storms, but that’s just not the case. We probably have more storms with Jesus because Satan’s trying to destroy us. I tend to think that Jesus should automatically calm my storm, that I shouldn’t have to worry about it getting bad. This can be a really damaging thought because when we bring that to God and He doesn’t answer us right away, it’s easy to pull away, and to be angry at God. The truth is, He never stops working, He’s not going to leave us to deal with our storms by ourselves. There may be a purpose for them that we don’t see. 

One of the lessons that has been recurring in my life is that He’s always present.  Even through the worst storms, God is always there. It is so easy for us to turn away from God when things are going good, or when we think that life isn’t hard at the moment. It is challenging to make time for God in those moments because we think we must have a pretty good relationship if we aren’t in the midst of a storm.  But an active relationship with him is so fulfilling. 

Let’s live a life where we don’t fear storms ahead, where we turn to God in them instead of away. God never leaves our sides, so why worry about the circumstances? Our God will never fail, He will never leave and He will never forsake. We just have to hold onto the truth that He is in control. No amount of worry is going to change the outcome because we are not the ones who are in charge. Jesus is present in your boat, and in my boat through every storm and He is working to calm it even when we don’t see it.