Storms are simply a part of our lives and something everyone must experience. They blow in out of nowhere, hanging over us for extended periods of time, and can completely turn our lives upside down. The storms I am referring to are not weather patterns but the bad parts of life that seem to flow in and out on a regular basis. You could say we have all been weathering a storm together the last eight months as COVID-19 has continued to hamper our lives. But there is one thing we must always remember when it comes to storms. They all have an end. As Christians, we must be sure to meet the end of every storm with the right response.
You see, we don’t have to know what to do in order to navigate or survive a storm. Noah didn’t. He simply left it in God’s hands and rode the storm out safely in the ark. Our response should be the same. All we need to do is ride out whatever we are going through, trusting solely on the Lord to see us through. The Bible tells us we face nothing alone because God is always with us and will never forsake us. Not only that, but God always finds a way to turn everything for our good and that is just what He does in the midst of every storm.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)
8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Joshua 1:9 (ESV)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
So instead of trying to handle every tossing wave and strong gusts of wind, we simply need to trust in our God to handle all that. Our focus should be fixed beyond the storm to when the skies are clear once again. Not towards what we are going to do for ourselves after the storm is over but on how we are going to respond to the God we were clinging to as the thunder rolled overhead.
Let’s look at the current storm we are all facing currently COVID-19. When the end comes and the sky is bright once again. It will not be time for the church to run to the store mask free, eat in a restaurant, visit friends, or take that vacation that had to be put off. No those things can come later but first, it is time to turn to God with praise and thanksgiving. It will be time to gather together with the body of believers and thank God for all He has done for us during these tough season. That is the right response to a storm and exactly what Noah did when the floodwaters subsided.
Genesis 8:18–20 (ESV)
18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Noah and his family survived the greatest storm this world has ever seen. A flood of such mighty proportions it destroyed everything that wasn’t safely tucked in the ark. When it was over Noah didn’t run out to inspect the land, build a house, find new sources of water or food. He had a lot of work before him to rebuild the world that had been lost. But before he started any of it, he took time to thank God for carrying him and his family safely through the storm.
The two examples we have used in this article have been some pretty big storms. But the truth is when we come out of any storm in life we need to have the right response to God. Before we move on and return to life as normal, we need to thank the Lord for moving in our situation. If you really look over the time you spent in the storm you will see God’s hand in it and your reason to be thankful.
Having the right response goes beyond life’s storms as well. We should also ensure that we meet answered prayers, won battles, and blessings with the right response. When these things happen it should not be just another day where we carry on like normal. We should show God how thankful we are by stopping and offering Him praise before anything else.
In the days of Daniel, the king of Babylon set to destroy all the wise men because none could tell him his dream. Daniel prayed for the dream to be revealed unto him and God answered his prayer. Though time was of the essence in order to save his life Daniel still stopped and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving before going before the king.
Daniel 2:19–23 (ESV)
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
The Lord is worthy of praise. When we rely on Him and continually call on His name for help we should respond with praise when He protects us. Too often Christians pray and pray for God to move in their life. Then when He does they meet Him with the completely wrong response. They shrug it off, return to normal, and count it as just coincidence and not God responding to their need. This is not the way it should be for the church. Our response is to meet every situation with praise, giving God all the glory and praise He is due.
Psalm 96:4 (ESV)
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
James 5:13 (ESV)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.
Hebrews 13:15 (ESV)
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (ESV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I pray you will be mindful during the storms and when you pray. Let go and trust in God because He will handle your situation. But when things take a turn for the good and your prayers are answered pause for a moment. Be like the men the Bible consistently refers to as righteous and give thanks to God before doing anything else.
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