It is guaranteed that we will face storms in life. The question is, how do we look physically and spiritually, once we’ve come out of the storm? One of the greatest preachers of God’s Word was Paul the Apostle. He could share a thing or two, when it came to storms. He faced being shipwrecked four times and understood being both physically and spiritually persecuted, first hand.
Formation of the Storm
Storms in the Christian’s life will come throughout our journey, just like natural storms do. The Baby Christian will not see the storm even forming because they are yet immature in their spiritual walk with God. Unlike the mature, seasoned Christian, they are able not only to see the storm coming, but are also able to prepare for it.
Storms in the natural world form by having uplift of pressure, which collides with the opposite temperature. It is the same for the storms we will face in our physical and spiritual lives. We, as Christians, will collide with opposing forces. These forces are spiritual angelic beings in high places that we are unable to see in the physical world, but clearly exist.
In Ephesians 6:12, Paul tells us that our struggle is two-fold. Not only do we struggle against our own fleshly desires, but against the evil influence from Satan’s attacks. Many times, Satan will influence people to attack Christians by using their hurtful behavior and/or words. Other times, Satan will use non-believers to persecute Christians and even take their lives.
Types of Storms
There are many different types of storms. Some storms come to boost our faith. We might not believe what God’s promises say about our particular situation, so God will use a storm to make us cling to Him and allow His promises to be unveiled in our lives.
Other storms are for correction or disciplining. We can stray the wrong way and God will develop just the right pain to bring us back to Him. He will allow the consequences of our choices made, during the storm, but the end result is to get us back into sequence with His will for our lives.
All storms are teaching moments from God. Instead of losing focus, we need to stop and pray to God and ask Him to reveal what He’s trying to tell or show us.
Bend, Don’t Break
There is one kind of tree that is designed to weather the strongest of storms, the Palm Tree. A fascinating thing about a palm tree is that it is made to take a lot of an opposing force, yet it remains standing afterwards. It has a unique design inside that allows it to bend and not break. The leaves are also designed to fold in during a storm, preventing its canopy from giving wind more force and pulling it out.
God has also designed those that are rooted into Him to take a lot, during the storms of life. We might go through a terrible storm, but He gets us through it. We bend, but we don’t break. During strong storms, the weakest branches of trees are the first to break. During a storm, you will always have people around you that break easily and are not there after the storm is over.
Many times friends will show that they are not the friends we hoped them to be. Other times it is family members that either walk away or fail to come when we need them the most. But then there are those strong branches, other palm trees that make up for the ones that didn’t weather the storm. They encourage us, lift us up in prayer, check up on us and come with a smile on their face. They are the hands and feet of Jesus.
So remember, Paul’s storm in Acts 27:13-44? They had to throw out some wheat, during the storm in order to lighten the load of the ship and get through it. You might find yourself in a storm of life. Trust God if some branches you were counting on just broke. Keep praying, even if God is lightening your ship by pruning your life from some of the ones you hoped in. He’s trying to make you to solely trust in Him. God is that unwavering Palm Tree that doesn’t move, never breaks. He’s training us to follow His lead.
Giving God The Glory 