Going through Storms

Are you in the middle of a storm in your life? Maybe your job is getting the best of you and you can’t catch a break. Maybe your marriage isn’t going as well as you hoped. Maybe there is a relationship in your life that is causing pain and frustration. Maybe your bank account isn’t quite as padded as your mid-section. Can you relate? I think if we are honest, we all can.

Last night at our life group, we talked about storms and why we go through them. It was a great conversation. Our conversation naturally went to Matthew 8:23-27.

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”  The disciples were also in the middle of a raging storm. Theirs involved wind and waves, but in many ways it wasn’t much different than ours. No matter how much they fought or struggled nothing changed. I am sure that they felt like things couldn’t get any worse. 

The disciples then did what I often find myself doing in the midst of a storm. They pleaded to God for help.

“God! Please Help!!”

“Why won’t you do something!”

“Why are you letting this happen!”

In the middle of a storm, we are only thinking about how to get out and why we got in this spot to begin with. The disciples too had a single track mind. But, as our group chewed on this, we started to see something deeper emerge. If God has the ability to calm the winds and the waves. Why do we forget that He could have prevented them to begin with?

Could Jesus have told the winds and waves to calm down before he fell asleep? Absolutely!

Could Jesus have kept you from taking the dead end job that you have? Absolutely!

Could Jesus have kept you from saying the hurtful things that you said to your loved one?  Absolutely!

So, if that is true, is it possible that storms are sometimes used by God to increase our trust in Him and to grow us closer to Him? The 14 of us sitting around our living room last night definitely think so. We believe that we serve a God that pursues us with a never-ending love and an unmatched power. We believe that we often grow the most when we are in the middle of a storm. We believe that our God will never leave us and that He can use anything in our lives to bring us to Himself.

For several years Life Church has challenged its staff, elders, covenant members and regular attenders to prayerfully consider a single word on which to focus for the year.  This closely follows the process presented in Mike Ashcraft & Rachel Olsen's book, "My One Word" (http://myoneword.org/).  Peppered throughout the year, we plan to present some of these words here, on the blog.  

Every year when I begin thinking about my One Word for the year, I try to be sensitive to words I encounter frequently in songs, conversations, in books and Scripture, and other seemingly random places. God reveals Himself to us in these different ways, if we will listen. As 2018 began, a word that was on my heart repeatedly was WELL. I could feel God pushing me to choose this word for myself, but I was disappointed with what felt like such a lack-luster word. I wanted my word to be more glamorous or eloquent, but instead He gave me what seemed ordinary...

WELL.

Being a language arts teacher for years, I love the study and meanings of words. Through a simple dictionary search, I found exactly what God had for me through two definitions:

1 - Well: (noun) an issue of water from the earth;  a pool fed by a spring; a source from which something may be drawn as needed.

God spoke pretty directly to me with this meaning, saying “Britt, come straight to me. I am “THE well,” the source of your answers, encouragement, and purpose.” In my time with God, I often look more often for a devotional, Bible study, or podcast - and not often enough do I go straight to His Word. In 2018, I wanted to spend more time with Jesus in His Word. Instead of seeing what an author has to say about Scripture, I want to see what Jesus wrote just for me and to me.

2 - Well: (adverb) with skill or aptitude; with careful or close attention; to a high degree.

God revealed something to me about myself in this definition that I don’t like. You see, I’m a people-pleaser at heart; I say “yes” as often as possible and despise saying “no” because I feel like I’ve let someone down. But the problem with saying yes to everything is you begin to simply exist and not thrive. My days had become filled with surface-value checklists, versus the deep, meaningful relationships God has called me to.

Esther 4:14B “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Just like God chose Esther to lead, serve, do something difficult for His kingdom, God intentionally places us in our roles, connects us with our people, and creates us with individual purpose. He needs us to say yes to His work. He needs us to accomplish His work well.

This year, I wanted to say yes to the places where God has called me - and I wanted to do it well. God created me to be a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, and servant, and He charges me to do His work wholeheartedly. He also put me in this city, on my street, with my people because He created me for a very specific purpose in this time and place.

Here I am, almost halfway through the year, and I’m still fighting to be, work, pray, live, minister and love well. My word is saved on my phone, printed in my home, and a friend keeps sending me screenshots when she encounters it. I pray I can look back on 2018 and believe that I gave my whole self to those people and places where God called me.

So friends, where are you only half-heartedly serving, loving, or being? I would encourage you to start at “The Well.” Go right to His word and see what He’s written for you. Then I’d charge you to look around and see where God has placed you with influence. Where can you work harder and love better? Dive in and give all of yourself for Him...and do it WELL!

For several years Life Church has challenged its staff, elders, covenant members and regular attenders to prayerfully consider a single word on which to focus for the year.  This closely follows the process presented in Mike Ashcraft & Rachel Olsen's book, "My One Word" (http://myoneword.org/).  Peppered throughout the year, we plan to present some of these words here, on the blog.  

It’s February.

For some people, this means you are over a month into the “new you,” when you are working to change a habit, routine or otherwise better yourself and it is going well. Clothes are looser, those salads taste better than you thought, getting up early to study the Bible has become something you look forward to rather than dread, or any of the other ways this newness is becoming a good thing.

For others, this means you are ready to give up and the change is just too hard. Perhaps you were too ambitious or too goal-oriented, and you feel defeated. The new you is just a 2018 version of the old you, only now maybe a little less optimistic.

Regardless of which end of this spectrum you may find yourself, I believe my One Word for 2018 can be of some help and encouragement – STEADFAST!

You see, 2018 is likely and, hopefully, going to be a year of truly life-changing things for my family. In January, we became licensed by the State to foster-to-adopt, and we are waiting patiently for the call that the child God has for us is ready to meet us. How cool is that! Beyond that, we are working toward building a house, my company is building a new location, we are on a new budget, and the work at Life Church is never busier or better. And these are just the things I think will happen this year; who knows what other things God has in store or how He will move and change these things.

Yet, with all of these good things comes a dangerous pitfall – my nature.

If I know anything about myself, it is that left unchecked, I will return again and again to relying wholly on myself and leaving God entirely out of the equation. My One Word reminds me that I am called to be diligent in my faith and steadfast in my whole reliance on Him. In essence, all of my duty in steadfastness is to rely entirely on His steadfastness, which never changes.

Thankfully, as our Life Group embarked on a new study last week of The Book of James, this reminder was impossible to ignore.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing,” James 1:2-4 (ESV).

So, as I fight this year to stand steadfast in my pursuit of Him and His ways, may I encourage you to do the same. Regardless of how your resolutions may be going and how good those things may be, let James’ words soak in and be reminded that the outcome of steadfastness may not be a smaller waistline, but being made perfect and complete in the eyes of Christ.

Michael serves as an Elder at Life Church.  He loves spending time with his life group, especially around a campfire.  Email him at