After the storm

Photo by Caras Lonut 

Storms come.  

They always come.

But don't forget they pass too. 

One day the sun will shine, the clouds will clear and life once more resumes.  Life never stopped mind you, but during a storm it feels as if life is suspended and we hold our breath waiting for a better day.

Life is full of storms.  Everyone has them.  No life is exempt.  If you meet a person who has never been through a storm in his life he will be one of the most boring people you will ever meet.  Storms deepen us and simplify our lives.  They blow away the things that aren't important and focus our attention on what is important.  Storms clarify our lives.  We suddenly realize what really matters.  

And after the storm life goes on.  A new day dawns and we begin afresh.  A life without a storm will never find a bold faith in God.  It takes a storm to turn our attention to him.  In the midst of the storm God feels very close, but when the skies clear we resume our lives and our need for God, our focus on him fades.  The very thing we dreaded....the storm....is the thing that brought us close to the God who made us.  

Why does it take a storm to draw our attention to God?  Why do we have to be threatened with the loss of everything to truly seek him? I think it's because in the storm we lose the ability to care for ourselves.  Without God's help we are lost, doomed!  

Looking at it this way storms look like a true blessing don't they?  If they bring us closer to God why aren't we praying for more storms in our lives?  Why aren't we drawn to the storm because it also draws us to God?  

Why do we resist the very thing that focuses our attention most clearly on God and dependence on him?  I wonder......

"A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." -Mark 4:37-39