4-2-23 Willisburg Bulletin
Storms as Christians are trials, tribulations, or hard times one must endure. We aren’t to be surprised about them coming (1 Peter 4:12). God promised us we would have to go through them in John 16:33. 2 Timothy 3:12 specifically tells Christians, “all those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted.”
We are Christians, aren’t we supposed to be blessed? Sure, but if you think about it, change causes growth! Growth is a sign of being blessed. The storms are difficult, but they bring blessings many times. Think about here on this earth, we are blessed physically with food and beautiful scenery after the rain. Without the storms, the crops wouldn’t make it, and the green landscape around us would turn brown. We’ll have storms that affect out physical being such as financial issues, health problems, and even death of loved ones sometimes, but blessings come, I promise! God will be glorified and your faith will show if you continue steadfast in Him, just as 1 Peter 1:6-7 confirms.
Blessed in Storms
Spiritual blessings arise after enduring the storms. When we are going through spiritual storms, whatever that may be, we are to count it as joy (James 1:2). Romans 5:3 says to “rejoice in your sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance”. Philippians 4:6-7 lets us know God’s peace comes and will guard your hearts. Through all these verses you can see what benefits are received from enduring the storms. God’s protection, grace, peace, joy, endurance, and many more.
You know, when you think about everything going right, a lot of times, God is forgotten. We have everything we need, and nothing is going downhill so we think we’ve got this. We don’t need any help, so we think. Until, something bad comes along and wrecks our momentum. Then we turn to God. This ought not to be. But truthfully, the storms cause us to rely on God more and draw closer to Him, which is a blessing in itself, because the closer you are to God, life will be better through the bad AND the good.
Our ultimate blessing will be the crown of life just as James 1:12 assures if we withstand the test (storm). Think a minute about the final blessing. Do you want Heaven? However, it’s conditional. We must withstand the test and that means all the storms of life, all the wiles of the devil, and it requires us to obey.
God is going to take care of us, so we ought not worry about storms, even though they will be hard. God is going to be right beside us, if we allow Him. So, remain steadfast, be patient, and pray fervently, and you’ll be on the right track to getting through the storms of life.