We were 2 hours into the drive when the sky changed. One moment there were a few rain drops falling – the next, rain was slamming down on our windshield making it look like we were driving through a hurricane. We turned our hazard lights on and slowed to a crawl. My eyes were straining to find the lines on the road.
We have to drive slowly to get through this storm. I thought to myself.
Just then a truck zoomed by us with their headlights turned off. It was as if they thought by driving faster, they could beat the storm.
There are moments in life when the storm doesn’t pass—it lingers. You pray for breakthrough, beg for peace, but instead of calm, the rain pours harder. Our response can be like that driver- “Let me just press on the gas and get past this storm as fast as possible.”
We want a fast-forward button, to skip the pain and get to the part where everything makes sense again.
Our world doesn’t like slow – But sometimes God moves slowly.
God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars, but it took 25 years of waiting before Isaac was born.
Jospeh was sold into slavery at age 17 and spent years in prison. He didn’t rise to power in Egypt until he was 30.
The Israelites were enslaved for 400 years before God sent Moses to deliver them.
If you are going through something hard and it doesn’t seem to let up, God’s delays always have a purpose:
Abraham’s faith was strengthened.
Josephs waiting prepared him to rise up and save Egypt from famine.
For the Israelites, God used the delay to display his power through the plagues and multiplied the nation.
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
God sees the beginning to the end. When we try to fast forward through the storm or take a shortcut, we may be doing more harm to ourselves than good.
Maybe you blame God for all of the bad things that have happened to you. You run away from him because “How could a good God let this happen?”
But most of our storms don’t come from God. They are caused by sin in this fallen world. So even if God didn’t cause your storm, in his kindness, he enters into the storm with you.
What I love about God is that his love doesn’t stop there. He uses your storm to shape you, deepen your faith, and strip away things that don’t matter.
Your storm can actually be the thing that saves you!
I never thought I would believe that, but looking back, God did his best work in me through each storm.
The thing is, if you let him, God can draw so close to you that his presence is enough. Through every storm, God worked in ways I would’ve never imagined. The storms of the past have helped me trust in present troubles that GOD WILL WORK IT OUT.
So, if you are in your storm right now, thinking nothing is possible, look back in your life when God made a way. And if it’s hard to see his goodness, look at the story of Paul. Paul pleaded with God 3 times to remove a thorn from his flesh. Instead of God removing the thorn he gave Paul a promise by saying,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Instead of arguing, Paul accepted God’s “no” as a better answer. The thorn had a purpose, to protect him from pride and keep him grounded in grace.
Even if you have to slow way down with your hazards on – God’s grace helps you endure it.
Even if you have to stop completely and take a detour – God’s grace helps you endure it.
And even if the storm won’t pass – God’s grace helps you endure it.
Your storm has a purpose.
As we kept driving, we came across minor accidents. I wondered, maybe if they slowed down or pulled over, they could’ve avoided the crash.
I think that is what God does with us in our own storms. He takes us by the hand and leads us slowly, so we don’t cause ourselves to crash. We just have to trust & take his hand.
