This afternoon it occurred to me, however, that it doesn't always stay that way. Pretty soon the clouds roll away and the sun comes back out. It gets hot and steamy. You can almost feel the air sticking to your face and you can practically taste it on your tongue. Before long, aside from the occasional puddle (that probably annoys you more than it reminds you), you've forgotten that the rain even came. Life resumes its normalcy.
Until the next storm. Perhaps this one is worse than the last. Maybe it's the same or not so bad. Regardless, the rain still comes. The wind still blows. It seems there is no reality other than the constant downpour of water on your roof, dark skies overhead, and a sort of melancholy that the storm conveniently brought along to weigh you down and weary you to the very soul.
Yet, without fail, the storm passes and that moment, the one I almost seem to live for, the one just after the storm when everything seems so new again - that moment comes. And again I am reminded of just how perfectly God protects and sustains His creation. Again I relish the thought of the new heaven and earth that will one day come. And I rest, comforted in these thoughts.
Even still, almost in spite of the comfort that I feel in those moments after the storm, I know it cannot remain. I cannot live in that moment, nor can I live for that moment. Life doesn't work that way, does it? There are many moments spent before the storm even comes. We laugh and cry, we get stressed out and upset, and life happens. Of course there are times during the storm as well. We get frustrated as we sit in traffic, surrounded by drivers who appear to have forgotten how to function as soon as the first rain drop hits their windshield. We get terrified, huddled in the basement of our house, praying it will still be there when the storm passes. Life does not remain in those moments after the rain.
I think that sometimes I live out my faith like that. Maybe all the time, I don't know. I mean, when life is going along well and all the pieces are falling into place, I don't give a thought to the storms that will inevitably cross my path. Sometimes I almost live like temptation and trials are just things that happen to other people, something I might read about in the news. And, when those things do come my way, I either react like it's just one more annoying detail I've got to deal with or I freak out like I'm the only person in the history of the world to experience this.
But we all face storms in our faith, don't we? You see, what occurred to me in realizing that the moment after the rain isn't permanent is that all of those other moments before and during the storm are just as important. Sure, after coming through trials, we experience comfort and peace. We truly get a moment to rest as the God of all comfort wraps us up in His loving arms and reminds us that He's been there, carrying us through, sustaining us as we faced that storm - not alone, but with the Almighty God standing right beside us.
Before the storm comes, though, what are we doing? Are we content just to let life roll on by, taking the storms as they come or even trying to pretend as though we won't be affected? Tragedy strikes us all. Difficult times cut us to the very core of our being. For the Christian, suffering and persecution is inevitable.
But, for the Christian, it should also be anticipated and welcomed.
We intimately learn about comfort in those moments after a storm. But before the storm, we should be intentionally learning the art of abiding in Christ. We should be purposefully learning how to trust our God who has never failed to be trustworthy. Why? Because in the midst of the storm, we don't act methodically. We act instinctually. We don't act proactively, but reactively. If our practice has been to rely on our own strength and our own understanding, then when we faces trials and temptations we will continue to rely on our strength and understanding.
The Bible is clear however that we must "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." How much of your heart? All of it. So, if the end goal is to trust God in those situations where our gut reaction is to trust ourselves, then what needs to change?
Have you ever heard the phrase: "What's down in the well comes up in the bucket?"
If we constantly pour our own strength and understanding into normal life situations, what do you think is going to come up when you reach for that "bucket" during a storm?
We must be in the practice of constantly filling our hearts with the strength and understanding of God. How does that happen?
- Daily spending time in His Word. Peter says that God has given us everything we need for "life and godliness" through the Scriptures. How else can the Word get into our hearts unless we get into the Word?
- Daily spending time in prayer. Luke records that Jesus made a habit of prayer. How else can we submit to the will of the Father unless we offer up our own will to Him in prayer?
That you might know Christ,
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