Life is hard sometimes

Life is hard sometimes.

I know I'm not supposed to admit that since I'm a Christian and a Pastor. But seriously, life can be rough. I think that's why I don't like when people try to make it sound like once you become a follower of Jesus that everything will be perfect. Whenever it rains, the clouds will part and there will be a beam of sunshine on you. Because let's face it, all of us need a little rain in our lives now and then. It's part of how we grow. When approached with the right perspective, these stormy periods in our lives can reveal things about God we would never have seen otherwise. I wanted to share some things I've learned about the storms in my life.

So here's 5 things I've come to understand about these times in my life.

1. Storms don't mean you are outside the plan of God.

Mark 4:35-41 is the story of Jesus calming the wind and the waves. It's pretty obvious when you read the story that the disciples got freaked out when that storm came up and started rocking their boat. 

But verse 35 says, "when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.'"

Who's idea was it to get in the boat and go out on the water? Jesus. They were just doing what they were told to do and next thing you know they are scared out of their minds while Jesus was sound asleep.  Too often we assume that when bad things happen in our lives, God is punishing us. While there are consequences to the choices we make in our lives, sometimes you can be smack in the middle of God's plan for your life and still face scary circumstances. Maybe it's not life or death but maybe it's financial, maybe it's health, maybe it's a strained relationship. Whatever the case, remember storms don't always mean you're doing something wrong. Step back and review the path that got you there and if you can honestly say you're in the will of God, then remember this next point.

2. Bad things happen in a broken world.

³⁷  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.

Many of the disciples were fishermen by trade. They were comfortable on the water. Why is that important in this story? Because I think it shows that these guys didn't set out in bad weather. The geography of the Sea of Galilee makes it susceptible to sudden storms. This was a natural event. Sometimes we too are simply victims of the environment we live in. We live in a broken world. Broken because of sin that was not a part of God's original plan. He never intended sickness, disease, death, shame, hate, violence, emotional and mental trauma. Romans 1:28-31 tells us that bad things happen in this world not because of a vengeful God but as a result of a broken people refusing a loving God.

3. When you feel like giving up, wake up instead.

The disciples panicked at first and then when things seemed at their worst, they remembered that Jesus was in the boat with them, they just had to wake Him up. When we go through difficult times, it's easy to get angry at God and blame Him for all our problems or not doing enough to help us. It's in those moments when you feel like giving up that we instead need to realize that Jesus never left the boat, He's right there with us. We need to awaken His power in our lives to get us through.  Our thoughts and emotions can be our own worst enemies. Read Psalm 73 and see if you relate to the words of David at all. After admitting that he was "almost gone" he came to the realization that life wasn't unfair but that his "heart was bitter and I was all torn up inside." 

4. Jesus is revealed in the Storm.

I love the last part of this story in Mark 4. Jesus wakes up speaks to the wind and waves and calms everything down. Then He turns to the disciples and is like, "what's wrong with you guys? Settle down." Their response is "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" They had watched Him do amazing miracles before but this was a whole new level of power revealed when they saw Him command even the elements of nature.  What do you need to see God do in your life? There is no storm that Jesus can't speak to in your lives. Allow Him to speak to your storm and reveal His full power in your life.

5. Don't just SURVIVE but THRIVE 

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

This verse is quoted a lot by those of us in the Christian faith as a proclaimation of hope. And it is, but have you ever read the context of this verse? It's part of a letter Jeremiah wrote to those who were in CAPTIVITY in Babylon. Yeah, captivity. Where's the future and hope in that? Well go back and read the beginning of the chapter and what you'll see is that God was telling the people to build homes, plant gardens, get married, have kids so they will give you grandkids.  He was telling them to live their lives and not only that but to live their lives well.  He was telling them not just to survive their time in captivity but to actually THRIVE while they were there. He was saying, "sure it doesn't look good right now but I have a plan for you so don't give up." How often have you felt like just shutting down in life? Or maybe just laying low until the "storm" passes by? God says, live your life and know He has a plan for you that doesn't end in disaster.

A.W. Tozer said a "low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils but a person with a high view of God is relieved of 10,000 temporal problems."  In other words, the worst of our problems are not always the circumstances but our perception of the problems. When we have a "low view" of God we lower the power of God down to the level of our biggest problem. Our problems seem really big because our God seems really small. When we have a "high view" of God, we lower our problems to the level of God's greater power.

Life is hard sometimes....true. But God is greater than any storm. He's bigger than our circumstances and He doesn't just want us to survive our storms but THRIVE in the midst of them. Don't give up, don't shut down, don't get angry. Instead, seek God during those imperfect times and allow Him to reveal His power to you in ways you never thought possible.