The Beauty in the Storm

Weather. In the state of Minnesota we will often have the craziest weather patterns; it will go from 80degrees and sunny to terrential down pours. In the summer, it seems that everything is all good and beautiful and then all of a sudden its cloudy, and cloudy leads to a little rain, and rain leads to these storms that cause destruction. Sometimes it happens so fast that we get caught unprepared for the situation we were just placed in.

These past couple days it has been such an inconsistency in weather that it has got me thinking, we can guess and predict but even the experts never really know what lies ahead.  We can try predict life, but the actual never lines up with the hypothesis. No one desires these lethal storms but they are unavoidable.

These storms often have an aftermath of hurt, pain, anguish, frustration, fear, and hopelessness; for everyone in the storm's path is left wounded.  For these storms, we usually have this mindset of "I can't wait til' its over" or we ask questions like "why can't this just be done?" and when it seems like we been in this storm forever we feel like we have forgotten what it looks like to have a nice, 75 and sunny day. In these situations it is so easy to forget what true refuge is.

A season of storms needs to be a season of not just remembering but a time to adhere to God's promises.  Hebrews 6:10-20 is a section of scripture that need to carry SO much weight in our lives.  These 11 verses should completely altar our attitude of unrest and hopelessness when not only going through a storm but in all stages of life. Hebrews 6:10-20:

For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.

For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:

“I will certainly bless you,

    and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”

Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

This is what the Bible says about how God promises. Lets pull out a few key things: God is not unjust, He does not forget, He cannot lie, there is confidence for those who go to Him for refuge, and His promise is His oath and these never change. This is our God.

Back to these storms. I want those who are stuck in a storm and stuck being broken and weary and afraid and overwhelmed and hurt and frustrated and hopeless to hear one thing, STOP IT!! As a child I remember running to my mother every time the sirens went off, there was this sense of security. RUN to your father in heaven. He is and always will be your refuge.  Stop forgetting that Jesus got in the boat and calmed the storm (Matt.8). Here is a word from the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 25:4,5-

"But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, 

a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.

You are a refuge from the storm

and a shelter from the heat.

For the oppressive acts of ruthless people

are like a storm beating against a wall,

or like the relentless heat of the desert.

But you silence the roar of foreign nations.

As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat,

so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled."

In Matthew 8, even the disciples were afraid of the storm! And Jesus was there, walking with them! They cried out to Jesus and said "Lord, save us!" They thought they were going to drown. They were hopeless and crying out in fear. Watch what happens next:

²³ Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 

²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

Why are you afraid? We are human, fear happens, but WE CANNOT LET IT CONSUME OUR LIVES.

Back to Hebrews 6, remember the end of chapter 6 where it says, "Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us."


Hope. That is our ticket through the storm. It comes from his refuge and it is strong and trustworthy because Jesus has already done it. Hope is beautiful. Even in the darkest of hours and the most ruthless of storms, HOPE REMAINS. Cling to His word and focus on His promises, NOW it is time for YOU to remember HOPE because it is already there for you. Hope lies in what Jesus did, not your situation, and it sustains you through your darkest and biggest storm.


The BEAUTY in the STORM is that there is and always will be HOPE in our God's promises because He is eternally unchanging and He is for you and HE IS FOREVER.