Getting Through this Lingering
Storm
By Jennifer
White
Do
you feel defeated? Is something in your life causing you to feel subdued
and vulnerable? Are your hopes frustrated, your needs deprived?
Maybe the wreckage seems catastrophic with another storm emerging on the
radar.
We
long for safety and a secure future. We want now solutions that buy us
victory in the battle against cancer, mental illness, unemployment, oppression,
and attacks by others. We trust that God hears our prayers. We know
that the disciples woke him up from a deep sleep on a storm-tossed boat, and He
calmed the sea with a few words.
Still,
this situation, your situation, needs a savior now. You have prayed.
You asked for God to intervene, and it’s been months, maybe years.
Why doesn’t your Savior enter stage left and tell this hurricane to be
still?
Looking for an
Exit Sign
I’ve
been wrestling with this myself. My human nature sees danger and is
looking for an exit sign. My heart desires peace and is tired of pursuing
it only to see the door slammed again. Doesn’t God want me to walk away?
Doesn’t He want me to finally rest after decades of tension and “sucking
it up”.
I rationalize using this scripture and that one, as they come to
me. I hear wise counsel to act, to stand, to fight, and I still want to
shut the door on this long-lasting saga. Confusion clouds my mind, and my
emotions deliver the rain. This just needs to STOP!
Then God speaks to me when I am quiet enough to hear Him.
Yesterday, it was in the middle of the night, when the room was dark and I had
been at rest for a while. He reminded me that David, before he became
King David, spent years avoiding the vengeful pursuit of King Saul. He
endured more than I can imagine from a powerful foe that had been appointed by
God. The betrayal he must have felt, but he endured. He even
honored his enemy in a cave when he could have released years of pent up
frustrations. He held on to God’s promise that he would one day be
king, and he waited.
Can I Keep Going, Keep Hoping?
Has
God given you a promise that seems like a vacation destination you will never
be able to visit? Are you enduring a storm that rarely gives the sun a
chance to shine in your life? Do you feel like Noah building a big boat
with no clue what rain is? Do you feel like Abraham and Sarah waiting for
a baby when your peers are enjoying grandchildren and great-grands? Do
you know you are called to do great things for God but find yourself thrown in
a well by your family?
Who is Driving?
Today is the day to put fear and hopelessness in the trunk of your
car and let faith drive.
This is going to take a little heavy lifting. Fear can become
obese over time and with influence. HOWEVER,
it crumbles when addressed by the reality of God, so roll up your sleeves and
tell that crazy phantom who God is.
He
is your Shelter (Psalm
91:1).
He
is a Safe Place to hide
(Psalm 46:1).
He
is your Defender (Psalm
18:1).
He
is your Sustainer (Colossians
1:16-17).
He
is the Gentle Shepherd (Isaiah
40:11) who prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies (Psalm
23:5).
He pursues you each day with perfect
portions of His love, His power, and His sound mind (Psalm 23:6, 2 Timothy
1:7).
He
is enough. He is more
than enough for the length of this crazy hard time you are going through (2
Corinthians 12:9).
Hold
up your difficult person, situation, or illness to Him and see the difference
in power. Take another step forward into
the unknown with your eyes on His greatness. Take the next step in the
long tunnel of darkness and know He is with you.
Let
God Be God to You
Relief will come. It might be today, next year, or when you
move into the perfection of Heaven. Until then, He is God, and He is with
you and me. He is enough. Cling to Him. See the storm
from His perspective.
Jennifer O.
White
Author. Speaker. Encourager at Prayerfully Speaking
@jenniferowhite
Author. Speaker. Encourager at Prayerfully Speaking
@jenniferowhite
Jennifer White pursues God in prayer with the Bible as her
guide. She leads others to do the same at Prayerfully Speaking. Wife to David is her highest calling. She recently completed
her first book, Prayers for new Brides: Putting on the Armor After
the Wedding Dress. #LIVEWONDERSTRUCK with her
that God is and does "more than we can ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).
#GodAnswers
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hey!! We LOVE hearing from our readers and fellow Church Chicks! Please leave a comment to let us know you stopped by!