The Thing About Storms

Sometime tomorrow we are supposed to start feeling the effects of Tropical Storm (soon to be Hurricane) Isaac. We see it coming. Jim Cantore is lingering around somewhere along the Gulf Coast frightening everyone who sees him.

"No! Jim, please go to fill in the blank. Please don't spend the night here!"

No one wants the storm to come their way.

We don't wish it on Mobile or Biloxi or New Orleans.

But we don't want it either.

Nobody wants the storm.

But Isaac will arrive. Somewhere along the Gulf Coast, packing strong winds and lots of rain. And there will probably be damage and a big mess to clean up afterward.

Storms do that. They cause damage and leave a mess in their wake. And then they're gone.

Life is full of storms.

Just when we least expect it, Jim Cantore shows up on our front porch.

Maybe it's a minor storm, just a passing thunderstorm or a Tropical Wave at best. But then again, maybe its Andrew or Katrina.

Nobody wants the storm.

But the storms keep coming. Because storms are a part of life. And we're supposed to figure out how to make it through them. We're supposed to know how to prepare, and what to do. We're supposed to know how to get back on our feet when it's all over and done with.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Jesus said that. He told us that storms would come, but that we should be prepared; that we should trust him; that he would see us through.

A lot of people wonder why God causes hurricanes and earthquakes and heart attacks and traffic accidents and cancer.

They say that a good God would never cause those things to happen.

They're right.

A good God would not.

A good God would find a way to bring good out of those kinds of things though. A good God would whisper "I'm here," in the midst of the storm. A good God would want us to remember that we live in a world of death and decay; a world of pain and suffering; a world of heartache and heart break. But a good God would want us to remember also that he has overcome this world. That those storms do not have the final say. That they may cause damage and leave a mess, but that there is still hope. A good God would want us to remember that the worst thing is not the last thing. A good God would want us to lean on him and on each other as we go through the storms of life. A good God would want us to remember that we pass through the valley of the shadow of death. We do not stay there. We clean up. We pick up the broken stuff. We rebuild. We start over. We move on. We trust God. Because he is good. And because he loves us. And because oftentimes the storms of life make us stronger, and enable us to help others in ways that we can't even imagine in the middle of the storm.

Isaac will come and go, and so will the storms of life.

How will you handle them when they come? What will you believe about God when they come?

"Sometimes he calms the storm with a whisper 'Peace. Be still.' He can settle any sea, but it doesn't mean he will. Sometimes he holds us close and lets the wind and waves go wild. Sometimes he calms the storm, and other times he calms his child." - Scott Krippayne, Sometimes He Calms The Storm

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" - I Corinthians 4.8-9