Listening to the Holy Spirit:
Where there is shadow, there is also light. Difficulty may abound, but within and around there is growth and accomplishment – not the accomplishment of the world, but the accomplishment of My will through you and in you. In comfort there is deception. Deep roots grow from adversity and trial. Comfort is for the rest from your labor, but growth is in the labor. Joy remains from battles won in righteousness. Find strength as My child in the midst of the storm. Turn toward your foe with faith. Lift your head to the Father of Light, even as the wind and waves encircle. Call to the Comforter who holds fast His children in the torrent. In each trial you are made newer, driving out the weakness of faithlessness, and filling again what remains with the new man. Peace, be silent, I have more than the helm, for I hold the storm. My light penetrates the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.
1Pet 4:12 (ESV) – Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Matthew 8:26-28 (ESV) – And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
James 1:2-4 (ESV) – Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Taking It to Work:
It is said that we are either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or heading into one; experience says that’s the truth. We know now that storms of disease, isolation, and misinformation can be worldwide, affecting billions across the globe. We also know that our God is in complete control of the limits of those things, and we are to remain faithful and fearless, even when the world is not.
What allows us to do that? Faith.
Faith that God is in control. Faith that he is using whatever craziness that is going on to develop perseverance and steadfastness in us. Faith to know that He knows the end before the beginning even starts, and everything is going to plan.
Our personal storms are part of the plan as well, large and small – that annoying clerk, that overbearing boss. The fact you have not got the raise in two years, or missed that promotion again. All these “bad” things, and a thousand things more, if we are looking at them with a God-lens, according to scripture, are the very things that build and strengthen us. It is said, that, “Fair weather has never made a skillful sailor” and God apparently knows that.
Whether the storms happen in the workplace, at home, or deep inside, our Lord is there with us, using the circumstances to grow us and perfect us. As tough as it is, we need to hold on to our joy and our faith.
He has included whatever you’re going through in His will for you. It too will pass, and with faith and a right response, you will be stronger for the storm. Trust in His plan; hold the boat steady, and do the best you can to stay joyful, as His Word works in you, today.
