I live in Orlando, Florida, and we have quite a few storms here. Some are worse than others, but they all come and go. The funny thing about this place is that whenever it is storming, there’s a good chance the sun is somewhere poking through. Often times, it will be raining on one half of the sky, and the whole other half will be completely clear with the sun brightly shining.
Recently, I was watching a storm approach out the window. It started out as a beautiful day as usual, and then the dark clouds slowly began to roll in. The storm grew stronger and became severe. Then, almost as quickly as it came…it left. The sun was back out, and it was like it never happened.
Isn’t it funny how when we meet people, it’s always an instinct to mention the weather? When all else fails in a conversation, what do we do? Isn’t it also strange how similiar our lives are to the weather?
For instance when things are going bad, God is still there peaking through the clouds of our fallen world. Sometimes our situation might feel really hopeless, and yet He remains shining just as bright as ever. At the peak of the storm, when it seems like there is nothing there but the storm, we must remember that God is there. He always has been, and He always will be.
I know everyone is facing a lot of storms right now. A lot of us feel like the devil is coming at us with everything he has in this season. However, he knows his time his short. Are we going to let him think he is winning? NO! Are we just going to sit around and give up on praying because we are too tired? NO! We can’t do that. NOW is the time for us to be in prayer. This is the only opportunity we will ever have to praise God when things are rough. We are going to a place where we will never have strife or pain again. NOW is the time to praise God. NOW is the time to show Him that we love Him and trust Him. NOW is the time to say, “I have had it with you devil, and I’m not listening to your lies anymore!”
I’m so fired up right now. I just keep seeing all these pathetic attempts from the devil to divide us, destroy our testimonies, and steal our blessings. We need to remember that the more severe the storm is, the sooner the end of it is coming. God will have the victory, but we must do our part to help Him!
I’m leaving this open for comments. Please let me know what ya’ll are doing to survive!
In addition to spending time with God and doing our best to walk in the Spirit, we can also help our friends and be helped by them. So many times we don’t share our struggles with each other, and it gives us a false piety, plus it keeps us from helping each other like the Body of Christ is designed to. We all struggle with similar stuff from time to time, but if we never tell anyone, how will they know to help us? (They can get discernment, but we should be open and real with them, too.)
So many times I’ve been very encouraged and refreshed after talking about Jesus with some of my friends. It can make a big difference in someone’s life by having godly fellowship with other believers. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” So true…
Comment Submitted: October 22nd, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I agree with you 100%! The devil would love nothing more than for us to shrink away into isolation, and hide all of our problems from the world.
We are to confess our sins to God so that we may be forgiven, and confess our sins to man so we can be healed (James 5:15-16).
I feel like the Lord is telling me that the secrets of the past will soon be exposed. From my generation to my grandparents generation, all things must surface so they can be healed and forgiven and so God can take the veil off His next revelation.
I don’t know what that means, but anyway…Thanks for the comment!
Comment Submitted: October 22nd, 2007 at 4:56 pm