Standing Firm in the Storms of Life
January 7, 2009 by Dawn
Filed under Bible Based Living
Seems everywhere you look people seem to be in crisis. Possibly a financial crisis is hovering due to the ups and downs of our current economy. Or possibly be a health issue or a painful recurrence of a lingering injury. What about the family, is it in upheaval?
For me, it could be any one of the above, or any combination thereof on any given day.
During this same season two years ago, I was in an out of the doctor’s office with mystery illnesses vexing me. Our finances were a wreck…and the struggles created serious stressors in my relationships with those who mean the most to me.
I remember on one occasion when everything was getting to me, arguing with my husband and telling him that I had just had enough. Enough frustration, enough of the struggles… I was giving up because I was too tired to fight anymore.
Be strong, courageous, and firm; fear not nor be in terror before them, for it is the Lord your God Who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
This verse came to me during that time, and God revealed to me that my problem is that I am the one fighting, and that is exactly what defeats me. See, I fight the good fight, but not necessarily the good fight of faith. I believe if I push hard enough and long enough, eventually the opposing side of my struggle will give up.
But that isn’t the way God wants us to face our struggles in life. He wants us stand firm in our struggles, but standing firm courageously in our faith. He wants me to be like a tree standing through the storms of life. The potential of my success in making it through the storm depends on how deeply I have grounded my roots of faith. See with roots of faith, I can face the storm; my tree can bend and sway, and I may even lose a few branches; but at the end of the storm, I’m still standing; and I am ready to grow, ready to flourish, and ready to blossom. (John 15:2)
Losing our branches, bending and swaying in the wind is okay, because it is here that God prunes us and develops us to stand stronger the next time…
It has been two years and this season is reminiscent of two years ago. I have a debilitating health problem lingering over me, complicated with a nuisance of an injury just before Christmas. Our finances were stable enough until one of our cars died without warning just two days before Christmas. Then that seemed to cause a roller coaster effect on everything. Rich threw out his back, we both got the flu…and boy, did the year that was promising new hopes and dreams, seem to be a rerun of disappointments and struggles.
We were tested with the storm of life, and while we bent, we swayed and we even lost a few branches…we made it through this storm. We came through without the fights, without the stressors, and with our sense of humor intact. We came through knowing that God would be faithful to see us through this storm, just as He has seen us through all the other storms of our life. We came through with the promise of new opportunities on the horizon, new visions and dreams coming to fruition.
Are you in crisis? Are you facing a trial or struggle that is bending you and pulling at the very core of your being? Stand firm and strong, know that God is the “same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He will be with you through every struggle, and will pull you through under the shadow of His wings.
Take a moment and root yourself in His word. Thank Him for walking with you through the storms of life, and never leaving you or forsaking you. Be strong, be courageous, and stand firm.
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