Storms

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight- Proverbs 3:5-6

Always? Trust the Lord Always? I think this is so much easier said than done, which is one of the reasons we call ourselves humans. I think it is so easy to trust in the Lord when things a going well in our lives, we know he is sending us down the right path, we agree with where our lives are heading, but what about when we don't agree? What about when the plans we have for our lives are no aligning with what's happening? I know that I am supposed to trust in his plan, and try not to understand, but what if I want to understand?  What if I want to know why he is giving me struggles or what if I want to know why he is putting distance between someone I care about? What if I'm just really impatient and want what I want right now?!

I was talking to a good friend about this, and how sometimes I think the plans he has in store for us or our loved ones are just too great for us to wrap our heads around.  He created us to be smart and inquisitive, but sometimes he just doesn't want us to know the answers! There comes a point where we just have to have faith, we have to trust that this is what he wants. So much easier said than done... How do you just sit back and trust when friendships grow in distance, or when people we love earn their angel wings way to early in life? How do we know this is really his plan when it differs so greatly from our own plans?

I am slowly doing a bible study about storms, and the challenges we face when the lord sends us storms.  Anything can be a storm, and in looking and reflecting on my own life I have many things I can categorize as storms.  In looking at a journal entry from July, many of my storms are the same.  Some have changed, some have gotten better and some have been added.  Arguments, finances, relationships, deaths, distant friendships, work emotions and general day to day struggles with things going on in my life.  One thing we know to be true is that there will never be a time in our lives where everything is perfect, we will always have storms so what better way then to learn to endure and survive or even thrive! 

The bible tells us that we will endure storms in our lives and gives us the tools to survive the storms. Storms will surely come, they will come wrapped in Gods purpose and plan. 

"We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know they are good for us, they help us learn to endure."~ Romans 5:3-5
Endurance is the mark of a believer who is growing in Christ. Endure each storm, stand firm and be steadfast. 
"He stilled the storm to a whisper, the waves of the sea were hushed." ~Psalm 107:29 
We must pray for strength to endure the storms, the seas will calm, it just takes time and prayer.

"Do not be surprised at the painful things you are suffering.  These things are testing your faith." 1Peter 4:12-13
What storms are you facing right now? I challenge you to write down your storms, and pray for strength to get through them.
I will leave you with a picture from one of my harder days.  This day was supposed to be amazing, we were on out honeymoon and we decided to go deep sea fishing.  I get really motion sick, so I prepared with some Dramamine. I have never seen such big waves in my entire life! I prayed for calm seas and for the waves to subside and I'm pretty sure they just got bigger and bigger.  I threw up the entire trip, and thinking how much money we paid to go on this trip made it that much worse! But I was safe and alive, and Chad even caught a fish! So when the storms in my life start to drive the way I am living, I just think of that awful boat ride and thank the lord for all I have in my life that is going well and pray that the other stuff will just work itself out.