Originally Published In "A Healing Moment"
Some of life’s storms come upon us suddenly as was the case for the disciples in the ship. (Mark 4:37) We suddenly lose someone we love, we have a bitter disappointment, a crushing financial situation, or a physical illness that threatens to change our life forever or even threatens to end it.
© 2007 Donna L. Watkins - Resting Squirrel
Other storms may come slowly as you see the sky darken around you and the visibility of your life become dim until it seems a black cloud has surrounded us.It is in the storms of life that our God equips us for service. The history of mankind has always been rough and rugged. None that wish to be of value in this world will escape the storms that shape and mold us.
In the forest, an oak tree becomes great because the storms shake it and the rains beat down upon it and in the battle with the elements the oak develops its rugged fiber and becomes king of the forest. It has learned to sink its roots deep into the soil till it becomes one with the rock beneath it.
Jesus is our Rock and we need to sink our roots of faith deep until we become one with His Truth and Word.
The strong winds of adversity are only for our benefit. We live in a world that promotes ‘easy’ and ‘have it now’ but it’s not the real world.
A noted scientist, observing that early sailors believed the coral-building animals instinctively built up the great reefs of the Atoll Islands in order to protect themselves in the inner waterway, has disproved this belief. He has shown that these organisms can only live and thrive facing the open ocean in the highly oxygenated foam of the combative waves.
It is commonly thought that a protected and easy life is the best way to live. Yet the lives of all the noblest and strongest people prove exactly the opposite and that the endurance of hardship is the making of the person. It is the factor that distinguishes between merely existing and living a vigorous life.
The beauties of nature never shine brighter than after a storm. We will have His glow and give honor and glory to Him if we weather our storms with faith and hope and knowing that He is in the midst of them, as Jesus was in the boat. When the disciples woke Him, He spoke to the storm and there was a great calm. And then He asked the disciples, “Why are you so fearful?
How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
We are here to become more like Christ. The storms will carry us there if we trust in Him and what His Word says to us. Have they left you broken, weary, and beaten? Or have they lifted you to the sun-filled summits of the mountain tops of safety with a richer and deeper purpose of life? You will surely have more compassion for those in the storms of life and the muscles of faith you built will life others around you.
We are here to be Jesus to those around us. How many storms will you need in your life to choose to sink your roots down deep to the Rock of Ages and stand secure when all is tossed and swept around you?
“ This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.” I John 5:4
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