Amidst the Storms

What do you do when your world comes tumbling down around you? Where do you turn when it seems like the path on which you were traveling suddenly disappears beneath your feet? How do you cope with a major and tragic event in your life? Give up? The answer is God. There is the vast majority that will say that was an easy answer, but then why do we seem to take such tragedies and losses--such major shifts in direction with such disappointment, anger, frustration, fear, and hopelessness? The reason is that we say we trust God with our lives, seemingly giving Him the ability to direct and guide our steps as well as to help get us through the tough times. Where we make our mistake, however, is when those tough times do come, we too often try to regain control of our lives and our situations. It is as if we are telling God, "Never mind. You got me in this mess, now I guess it's up to me to get out of it." Blasphemy? How else would you take it if someone treated you the same way? Can we not trust God enough to not only see us to the bad times, but also to see us through? The Bible says that we will endure hardships and troubles as followers of Christ, but that He is the ultimate Comforter and Provider. He will be victorious in every outcome, and He will in the end "lead us beside still waters."

There is a reason for this post. I know of someone very dear to me that is suffering right now. Fear and pain are consuming their very being, and my heart is reaching out to save a soul...maybe even two. May I take a moment to share something that the Lord taught me just recently? I hope so, since this is my blog after all. Throughout our lives, we are given many choices, often multiple choices at one time. When we reach these crossroads in our lives, people will often say things like, "You have so many doors opening right now," or, "When one doors closes, two more open." The problem most people face (and I speak from experience) is that we stand in front of these many open doors leading to our futures with fear and trepidation. It is typically in these times that we like to try and regain control of our lives, even for a moment. "Your destiny is in your hands!" is a very common phrase given to graduates on their big day. But is our destiny really in our hands? Jesus made it very clear in The Gospel of John chapter 14, verse 6 when he said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He also touched on this again in The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7 verses 13 and 14, "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

That small road is Jesus, and He is the ONLY way. So when faced with many paths and many open doors, pray diligently that God will show the only one you should be taking. Otherwise, we may end up somewhere we really don't want to be. Then we are left with an accusing attitude towards God that He led us to this awful place we don't want to be. Focus your thoughts and prayers on the only thing in this world and the next that is an everlasting constant. That way, when the storms of life come, your world shifts and shakes around you, and everything seems to come tumbling down before your feet, you will find that you are not rattled, and you remain in the presence of the Eternal One, the unchanging Father. Then you will find you are unshaken and undisturbed amidst the storms.