When the storm comes
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Matthew 7:24-25
When I was younger, I used to think that there were people who had perfect lives. I really used to think that there were two groups of people - one who had perfect lives with no problems and those who had crappy lives with big problems.
LOL.
How foolish was I? As you may have learned by now, everyone has problems. Problems that shouldn’t be put into categories - what is a “small” problem to one person may be a “big” problem for another person and vice versa. We all have problems and we all process them differently.
When it comes to the believer, the way we process problems are extremely different from the world. Yes, we talk about them and we pray about them, but more than that, God has given us specific instructions on how to handle our problems.
One of them has been given to us in James 1:2. This verse specifically tells us to count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds.
Huh?
So just to be clear God, you’re telling me to count it all joy aka be happy when I’m going through it?
Yup. That’s right. God didn’t say to cry, pout, complain or feel sorry for ourselves or give up when we are going through trials. He actually said to count it all joy.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”
James 1:2 (NIV)
There are so many other verses that help guide us through times of trouble, instructing us on how to handle our problems. But I want to sit on this verse for a while.
I have known about this verse for many years. I knew what it meant and what it was telling me to do as a believer. But I never applied it to my life. I just did what a lot of christians do about their problems - pray, but then complain and have no faith that God would actually show up and answer my prayer.
I think it’s so amazing how God works. He doesn’t remove us from situations or circumstances that we are begging Him to, but He instead brings us through them and that is why we can count it all joy.
In Daniel Chapter 3, when King Nebuchednezzar throws Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fire, God doesn’t stop the King from throwing the boys in the fire, nor does He remove them from it. Instead, He brings them through it. But wait, the story gets even better - God not only brings them through the fire, He brings them out untouched and unharmed. Not one hair on their head was singed, nor were their clothes smelly or burned (Daniel 3:27).
God really spoke to me through this story because I’m currently going through a situation that I just want God to fix immediately. But through this story He showed me that the solution that I am looking for is not found in a quick fix or by removing the problem. Instead, He is showing me that all I have is all I need and He is here to take me through the storm. There are things I need to learn, people I need to meet and some things about my character that need to be developed before I just accelerate to the next chapter of my life.
I am truly learning to smell the roses. Instead of trying to rush through this chapter in my life, I am learning to be still and trust God. Do I always have crazy faith and trust God 100% with everything? No. Am I learning to? Yes.
And that’s the point of the journey - not to have it all together and be perfect and blameless, but to enjoy the journey and learn along the way. It sounds so simple and obvious, but many of us, including myself, get so caught up in the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve that we forget to enjoy life.
To be completely honest and transparent, I stopped enjoying life. I got so ambitious, self-righteous and hungry for success, that I stopped enjoying the season I was in because I was so focused on the next. It sucked because I was hoping for God to bring me into another season that He had promised to me, but I lost sight of the season I was currently in and thought that it was less important than the next.
I am learning that there is so much simplicity and beauty in the journey that I have been overlooking because I have been forgetting to simply enjoy it. I have been so caught up on the end result and the reward, but the gag is - there is no end result. When does the journey really end? Just because a chapter ends doesn’t mean the story does. God, being the good God He is, has been teaching me to enjoy life again - appreciate the “little” things and simply rest in Him.
I also want to remind you that joy is not just reserved for our “fun” seasons - the ones where we are getting money, going shopping all the time, working out daily so we look snatched, our marriage is in a happy bubble, no one in our family is sick - we can have joy even when the opposite of all these things are happening. Believe that joy is yours in every season, because God said it is.
But Nehemah, what about the times when I don’t feel joyful? I know I have joy, but I really don’t feel it. All I feel is sadness, loneliness, and depression. When I do feel even a little bit of joy, it is here one day and gone the next. Better yet, it is here one moment and gone the next.
Well, I used to feel the same way. Especially in college. I felt alone, sad, discouraged and depressed. But if I knew then what I know now, I would tell myself to hold onto truth, rather than allow my feelings to dictate and control all of my actions and decisions or what kind of day I was going to have.
A good friend of mine tells me all the time that feelings are good “indicators” not “dictators.” As a society, we have taken our feelings and misused them for the purpose from which God created them for. They are not there to lead us into making bad decisions or any decision at all for that matter; they are there to be acknowledged and processed (outside help is essential - talk to people, see a therapist, talk to God out loud - sometimes we need to hear our own thoughts out loud to hear how ridiculous they sound).
The point is, there comes a time in every believer’s life where they need to decide what type of believer they want to be - the one who lets their feelings dictate their every move - or the one who stands firm on the Word of God in every season.
Which one will you be today?
Change your focus
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
What we focus on is what will magnify. If you focus on the bad things in life, they will always seem worse than they actually are. If you focus on the good in life, you are sure to be a much happier, more positive person. If you focus on the God in your life, you will thrive. Focusing on God changes everything. How do you focus on God? Remain in His word. He left us the Holy Bible not as a decorative element for our coffee table, but as a way to communicate to us. Everything we need is in that book. Everything that we need is in God.
Spend time with Him
When I say spend time with God, I don’t just mean at church or bible study. Spend time with God by yourself. Just you and Him. Talk to Him. Cry to Him. Complain to Him. Yell at Him. It is how you will form a relationship with Him.
Spending time with God is so important to the quality of your life. My life completely changed when I started spending more time with God. I understand it’s not always easy to spend time God and just the thought of it may be overwhelming. My advice is to pick a time out the day that works best for you (I do early mornings 6/7am). Next, try something called the 30 for 30 Worship. It goes like this
10 minutes of Worship
10 minutes of Prayer
10 minutes of Scripture
This was a really good guideline for me because I wanted to spend time with God so bad but I didn’t know how. I was so overwhelmed with just the thought of spending time with Him that when it came around to actually doing it, I never did. If the 30 for 30 method is too much for you to start with, try spending just 20 minutes with God. If that is too much do 10 and if that is too much do 5! Whatever works for you.
Let go, be weak
Lastly, let go. Stop trusting in your own willpower to save you. Stop trying to plan out your whole life, stop trying to do God’s job. If our lives were being sustained through our own willpower we wouldn’t even be here. Our willpower failed us from the beginning of time. Our willpower failed us all the way back in the garden. It failed Eve which caused her to bite the apple. It failed the children of Israel and caused them to waste 40 years of their life. Our willpower will only take us so far and will only keep us for so long. The next time you feel the urge to tap into your willpower when you are feeling weak, pray instead and ask God to help you depend on Him.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
Prepare with God
Lastly, prepare with God - God has given us everything we need to live an abundant, victorious life. Along with that, it’s what He wants for us. It is His will for us to live abundantly (John 10:10). We prepare to live the life God has given us by waking up every morning and getting dressed. Not physically, but spiritually.
Ephesians 6 tells us everything we need to wear everyday, in order to succeed in the spiritual and natural realm. We are to put on -
The belt of truth
The breastplate of righteousness
Shield of faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God)
I know it sounds like you are going to battle, but that’s because we are. Everyday is a fight, but not one where we have to leave the battlefield exhausted everyday. It is one that we should be honored to fight, because we learn so much about God, the Father, we learn so much about ourselves, we learn so much about life and others and love. That is a life worth dying for. That is a life worth going to battle for.