Facing the Spiritual Storms of Life

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Jeremy Ballard, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

Do you remember being scared by storms as a child? I know I was terrified of them. Just like the disciples were afraid for their lives on the boat crossing the Sea of Galilee in Mark 4:35-41.

As you see there, Jesus rebuked the disciples for not having faith, but He still calmed the storm and brought peace as He said He would in Philippians 4:6-7.

How often do we as humans lose faith? Once a week? Once a day? Every time a difficult situation arises? The point is, we all lose faith at one point or another. It’s human nature to worry about how YOU are going to handle a situation instead of having the faith that God will handle it. As it says in Matthew 11:28, what God wants from us is to cast our worries and our burdens on his shoulders so we can have rest. And He says it again in 1 Peter 5:7.

That’s right, God CARES for you. He’s there to protect you from any storm that might come your way. Take a look at this story about the Galveston sea wall written by Benjamin P. Browne:

“George W. Boschke was the famous engineer who built the gigantic sea wall to protect Galveston, Texas, from the horrible floods which had brought disaster to the city. He built his sea wall with a sure confidence of a thoroughgoing engineer and master workman. From Galveston he went to Oregon to build railroads in an undeveloped section of the state. Boschke was in a camp forty miles away from the nearest railroad when an exhausted messenger rode in and handed a telegram to his assistant. The message said that the Galveston sea wall had been washed away by a second furious hurricane. The assistant was in consternation and dreaded to hand the telegram to his chief. Boschke read the telegram, smiled, handed it back and said, “This telegram is a black lie. I built that wall to stand.” He turned away and went about his work. It turned out that the message was based on a false report. True, there had been a hurricane as severe as that which had flooded the city before, but Boschke’s sea wall had not been moved. It stood firm. “I built that wall to stand,” said Boschke and went smilin on about his work amid rumors of disaster.”

The same way the sea wall protects Galveston from hurricanes and the confidence that the engineer had is the same way God protects us from storms and we should have that same confidence. The protection God gives us is built to stand.

We discussed that God always protects us from whatever storm comes our way, but what if God is sending us this storm to make us stronger? He DOES do that and the evidence is in 1 Peter 1:7-9.

You might be wondering what kind of God would allow you to face a storm, you might think that you have enough faith without being tested. Think about what you might miss by NOT going through the storm that God sends for you. Look at Jeremiah 29:11.

If a storm is part of God’s plan for us, there is a really good reason for us to face it. That thought is reinforced by Romans 8:28.

I’ve had several jobs that would be considered EXTREMELY hostile work environments. In ALL of these jobs, I had PLENTY of opportunity to let go of my faith and just be bitter and resentful towards the people that were making it hard for me to work. But I kept my faith and I know these were storms in my life and my faith was really put to the test, but I maintained, and I survived and I am a stronger man in Christ for it.

Look at Job. He went through some MAJOR storms in his life. While he did seek wise counsel, he ALSO turned everything over to God (Job 1:28).

Job understood that God was sovereign, that He was in control, and that He was going to provide for his life.

We’re all going to go through storms. It’s part of the process of growing stronger in Christ. The next time you’re going through a storm don’t be afraid to ask friends to pray for you, or pray yourself and ask God for His help.

“Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” – Psalms 4:1

Prayer should be the STARTING point when you’re in a storm. Sometimes it’s good to have an accountability partner. Or even better, go straight to God and rely on Him to carry you through.

“Don’t tell God how big your storm is, tell your storm how big your God is.” – Rev. Lenny Krebs, Sr.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13