Storms hit us all. Although the forecasters can warn us about hurricanes and tornadoes, we don’t always get any sign that personal storms are brewing.
My precious spiritual mama called me from hospital one Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation. Although she was not well, she sounded strong. The following morning she was taken into ICU and she passed away a week later.
The Bible tells us that torrential rains, floods and beating winds hit us all. The wise and the foolish both face difficulty and tragedy. So how do we find our way out of the storm?
FINDING THE WAY OUT
Jesus told a story in Matthew 7 that shows us how to protect our hearts and lives when storms hit. It is very easy in the midst of trauma to give up praying and put down our Bibles. Mtt 7:24 says that the wise man does what Jesus says, even during the storm. He likens us to fools if we lose heart and give up when the winds and rains are raging. That causes everything to fall down around us.
When Prophet Cathy went to be with the Lord, my heart was broken. Every time I pictured her face, the pain intensified. Tears just kept falling. The day she died my son sent me a recording of his first ever message. As I listened to him share the word, I felt so proud of him.
All of a sudden, I cried out, “I want to tell my mama!” I fell to the ground and wept. Pain from the deep recesses of my soul streamed out. The following morning when I awoke I realised that I didn’t hurt the way I did the day before. The Lord had started healing my heart.
Lam 2:19 says, “Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord”. If the storm has hurt you, you need to be healed. Ecc 10:11 says, “Remove sorrow from your heart.” We are doing the word when we get in His presence and ask Him to heal our hearts. I want to share three other keys to coming out of the storm strong.
DECIDE
We get to choose what we think. We can decide whether we listen to satan’s lies. The devil encourages thoughts like, “I can’t cope” or “This is too much” or “Nothing ever goes right for me!” Each of these are lies. 1 Cor 10:13 says that God will provide a way out of every test and trial. Phil 4:13 says that with the help of the Lord we can handle even the worst situations.
We are instructed in Phil 4:8 to think about things that will build us up and help us through. We can choose our perspective and we can select our attitude. When we do this through the storm, it creates inner strength.
DECLARE
We all know the verse that says, “Let the weak say I am strong.” (Joel 3:10) It is amazing how much we can encourage ourselves by speaking words of faith in the storm. “I’m coming out stronger than I went in”, or “God had brought me through before and He will do it again” even, “I can handle this because God is with me and will never leave me.”
DO
Please don’t throw down your weapons. Matthew 7:24 says that the wise man does what Jesus says. During the storm, we need to pray. During the storm we need to read the word. During the storm we need to carry on doing the things that we know are going to help us come out strong.
If this has helped, I encourage you to watch the message that I ministered the day after my precious American spiritual mother passed away. Click here.
Thank you Jo this has really helped bless you