Nature’s storms have a beauty of their own, even though they can be frightening and unpredictable. It’s breathtaking to see the night sky illuminated by flashes of light and watch the power of the wind sweep rain across the landscape.
Storms are the perfect reminder of the power of God. No matter how far technology has advanced, man still can’t stop storms.
Natural storms and personal storms are similar because:
- They often arrive suddenly.
- They bring darkness, uncertainty, and a sense of foreboding disaster.
- They do not last forever.
- At times they bring devastation requiring clean up.
- We have no control over them.
- They may be followed by sunshine and rainbows.
Like natural storms, personal storms often arrive with little warning. Broken relationships, the loss of a job, a health crisis, financial hardship, the death of a loved one, or a tragic accident can change our lives in a moment. Storms uproot our lives and leave a behind a path of destruction in the form of rearranged lives, depression, discouragement, and lifestyle changes.
Thankfully, storms pass in time. Some of the darkest moments in our lives happen just before we experience a breakthrough to better things. It is difficult to find beauty in our personal storms when we are going through them, but we can take comfort in knowing they will eventually end.
It’s not just that storms teach. It’s that there are lessons we can only understand in a storm.
1. Storms teach us real gratitude
It’s easy to be grateful when things in life are going well. When the bank account is full and all is going well. But even in difficulty we can find things to be grateful for. Stopping to look for God’s good hand and keep a daily gratitude list helps us see that God is at work all around us even when circumstances are hard.
2. Storms teach us real joy
After I left the Jesuits in 2010, I wondered if I’d ever feel real joy again. I thought it would come months later, after I’d processed the grief. To my surprise, God brought moments of joy in the midst of grief. Evenings with friends. Birthday celebrations with family. Little surprises in my day.
Storms show us that real joy comes in the hard, not after.
3. Storms teach us real treasure
The world tells us we need bigger, newer and more. In the storms that shatter life as you know it, what’s really valuable becomes crystal clear.
4. Storms teach us real strength
We can usually handle the mild annoyances and problems that surface on easy days. But trials bring us to the end of ourselves.
In those times, we realize we’re completely dependent on God. We need him to give us wisdom, to replace our fear with faith and to give us strength to battle the storm. But that’s a good place to be. God designed us to be utterly dependent on him. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
5. Storms teach us real faithfulness
It’s easy to quote the promises of God when life is good. But do they hold up in the hard?
Storms prove they do! We can see God’s faithfulness in ways we never see on sunny days. That’s when we can cement our own faith, when it becomes deeply personal because we see firsthand how God meets our needs and takes care of us in the hard. It’s in the storms we so often see God do things we couldn’t even ask or imagine. “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.”
None of us are immune from the storms of life. While we don’t know how or when they will hit, God has assured us they will come.
But just like hurricanes, we can prepare.
The Beauty of Storms
Darshak Rana
Storms are the beauty of life.
It draws out of us-our inner powers,
that the calm seas fail to discern.
Those, who wait for the storms to pass,
Often ends up in sadness and stress,
while the one who embraces the thunder
emerges victorious.
A person of faith finds the storm
as a sunny day,
where the rainbow of hope smiles
and fills the life,
with joy and happiness.
While the person of fear finds the gentle winds
as the majestic storms,
because the fear murders hope,
and dries out happiness
from the pastures of life.
Those, who believe in the beauty of storms,
find solace amidst the chaos!
Because they don’t try to control the storm,
but they themselves become a storm
of resilience and determination.
Kenrick Vaz 