Day 110

The Calm After the Storm

“Consider it (all) pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds—because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” James 1:2.

While we were at the ministry office the other day we noticed a black cloud coming up from the West. We were on the porch so we decided we must take cover as the wind began to blow and the rain started pouring down. Pretty soon we heard the ping of hail on the window and heard reports of severe storms in the area. Then came the warnings of possible tornado's. I don't know about you but I don't like storms ever since a tornado touched down in our city years ago and then when another one demolished a house less than a mile from our home.

You probably don't like storms either right? That also applies to storms in our personal lives. We all face them but we sure don't like them. The last few days have found our family in one of those storm's. God had prepared me before hand with the key passage for today. There will be testings Sandra. So when the testing came how did I respond to it? With pure joy.....well not exactly in the beginning.

As I sought Him I knew it was a time of progressing to a new level of faith in the storm as I trusted Him with the situation. Just like the dark cloud that came up all of a sudden the day of the storm, a dark cloud of fear came in my heart as I sensed the storm coming in our situation. Then I watched as it intensified into a hail storm with the winds of dread and destruction blowing hard. Just like in the storm's outside that we have no control over, I have also learned we can often not control our personal storms, so we have to learn to release them to God.

We alerted others to pray as we gathered in a time of prayer also as a family. Little by little the howling winds ceased and the dark clouds went away. Sitting back on the front porch today the sun was shining once again and a gentle breeze of the Holy Spirit is blowing through. Our storm is over for now, but the storms will come again. So will I be found considering it ALL pure joy? I see even more clearly today and one of my family member's expressed it like this, “It not only turned our for the good, but it is better”! Praise God.