God in the Storms

This week has been stormy out here in the Midwest. Between thunderstorms and tornado watches we have seen just a glimpse of God’s power. While hanging out under the stairs in our basement and listening to the sirens, we had the opportunity to talk to our daughter about the God we serve.

Fear had come over her and tears ran down her face. She wanted my husband and me to fix everything, to stop the storm and keep us all safe. One thing we have learned as parents is that there is very little we can do about many things. We had to explain that as much as we would like to we could not control this. In these moments in life, we learn again to lean on our Savior. We have no other option.

Sitting under the stairs we prayed for peace and safety, but ultimately for God’s will to be done. Our kids knew the story of Jesus in the boat with the disciples (Luke 8:22-25) when they were out on the lake, the storm came, and the disciples were afraid. Jesus was asleep, apparently not afraid at all. The disciples woke Him up, He simply rebuked the storm, and it stopped. The disciples were overcome with fear and amazement. I would have been as well.

Our kids love the story because all Jesus had to do was say a few words and the storm ceased. In their hearts they wanted God to do the same thing as we sat underneath the stairs in the basement, but He didn’t.

The storm still passed through, we were safe, and all was well. But the question still remained, why did He allow the storm? It was a teachable moment we could not pass up. We talked about God allowing some things in our lives that don’t necessarily seem to be good things, because He has a bigger purpose at hand. Sometimes it takes a storm to change somebody’s life . . . or even their eternity.

Job knew about such storms. We think of it in a figurative perspective at first. The storm of life Job experienced as he lost everything. From children to cattle, it was all gone. It was a storm, for sure, but the storm that changed Job’s life was even bigger.

Job had cried out to God for most of the book of Job, questioning his circumstances and God’s love. God never responded to Job till chapter 38. Job 38:1 says, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm.” He proceeds to tell Job who God is and all that He can do, never answering Job’s question of why. God spoke to Job out of the storm – the storm changed his life. In Job 42:2 Job responds saying, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”

Storms of life can be scary, whether they are literal storms or not. We begin to feel powerless as we stand in awe of the authority of our God. He can simply speak and make them stop, but sometimes He allows them to come so that He can speak to us through them. It is in these moments that we are reminded of our complete dependence on Him. For some, it is their first revelation of such and it changes their eternity.

This was the perspective we shared with our children – we should be willing to give some things up, to take on the storm, if it makes a difference in someone’s life. These are the biggest storms they have experienced so far. They will surely experience many more, but hopefully they will see Jesus in the storm next time.

So how do you weather the storm? Does it challenge your faith? Does He speak to you in those times? Aren’t the storms worth the struggle to change our own legacy or even to change someone else’s eternity?