ENCOURAGED in Every Season: Obey and Trust, even in the Middle of the Storm (Part 5 of 12)

In this ENCOURAGED series, I am passionate about you knowing your Faithful God in every season of your life. As you seek Jesus daily, I desire you to grow in your faith and relationship with Him so you can joyfully embrace Him as your true Encourager and proclaim His faithfulness to others. I pray that you would hold on to the hope and peace found only in Christ and learn how to embrace whatever season you are presently in your life, bringing glory to Him.   

Continuing with the ENCOURAGED acrostic, the fourth practical way to be encouraged is to:

O~OBEY AND TRUST, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM

“When you pass through the waters, I WILL be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I AM the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:2,3

God is faithful in every season, even in the middle of a storm and trial. Inevitably, storms and trials will roll in and rain down on all of our lives. Both, the simple, everyday showers and the unexpected, torrential downpours, can wreak havoc on our days. Learning to obey and trust the Lord in the middle of the storm proves to be a difficult challenge for us all, especially when we do not understand His timing or His ways.

Even when His ways and His thoughts are beyond our understanding, we can know He is able and He is working His purposes in our storms. Even if it looks different from what we desire or expect, we can know with confidence that He is sovereignly in control even over the winds and the waves of our present circumstances. Even if we do not know how we will ever get through this season, obeying Him and trusting His promises will help carry us to the other side. When fears and anxieties accompany the storm, His grace enables us to keep our eyes on Him, not the uncertainties that whirl around us. 

When the unexpected was sovereignly allowed in my life, I needed the confidence to know that I would make it through to the other side of the storm, and I needed to know that there was an overarching purpose. I needed to know that my God is able and that He alone is my Savior and Deliverer.

Amidst my own anxieties and doubts, struggling for control, I needed to know that I was not alone and that God was with me to quiet my fears in His Presence. I needed others to speak life and truth to my heart and soul in those hard places. In the middle of my trials, I needed to hear that I would get through this present season and that this season in my life would not last forever.

When you are hurting and in a hard place, you also need to be reminded that you are not alone, that He understands you and what you are feeling, and that He is faithful to carry you through the difficult seasons.

• You are going to make it.
• You are not alone.
• You are understood by the One who made you.
• You are not the only one who has felt this way.
• You will not be in this season forever
• Jesus Himself will carry you.
• Jesus Himself will be with you.
• Jesus Himself is faithful in your present season.

I needed Someone on the other side to encourage my heart. Jesus Himself walked through the fire, calmed the storm as the waters and waves obeyed Him, and He ultimately conquered death. Every circumstance He faced, He overcame. He is our faithful Encourager who is the only One who can truly give us peace and genuine joy in the middle of the storm.

The Lord knows that each of us needs encouragement and hope during these hard seasons in the storms of life. Therefore, He gave us His Word so that through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

In Isaiah 43:2-3, God’s Word shares with us three times—“when, when, when”—that the rains are coming, if they are not already here. The Lord emphasizes the words, “When, when, when,” seeming to indicate that the timing, duration, and intensity of the storm is up to the Lord. His ways and His timing are not always what we hope for or expect. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8).

Then, as we take a closer look at the heart of these two verses when we simplify and break the verses down, we continue to see a repetitive pattern.

God’s Word also highlights the words, “through, through, through” three times, assuring us with His promise that He will carry us through—maybe not in the way we think is best, but He will do it in His timing and in His ways.

Lastly, God’s Word repeats and stresses the word, “not, not, not” three times. What ‘not’ do you need to hear is possible today because He is able? This marriage will not end in divorce. This sickness will not end in death. This child will not be wayward anymore. This anxiety will not overwhelm you. This season of sleeplessness will not last. This relationship will not be severed. This financial strain will not overtake you. This season will not last forever.

The enemy wants us to believe that this season will last forever, that we will never be free, and that we will not make it. But the Lord assures us the opposite—this season will not last forever, and we will make it through to the other side! Although we cannot presume upon His will to know what He will do in our present circumstances, knowing He is able gives us hope. If He wills and purposes it, He is able.

Continuing on, the best part of these verses—the Who and the How—comes next, the “I WILL” and the Almighty “I AM” will carry us through this stormy trial. He is our Deliverer! He is our Savior!

When you are in the middle of the storm, in the thick of your present circumstances, cling to this Truth and encouragement—the Almighty, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient Lord Jesus is your Savior and Deliverer, and He will carry you through this storm.

However, in the middle of the storm, having perspective proves to be extremely difficult. When the winds howl, the rains pour down, and you cannot even see in front of your face, perspective eludes you.

Yet, not only does the Lord go before and behind us, Jesus meets us presently in the middle of the storm. In the middle, He miraculously gives us His peace, His rest, His calmness, His perspective, and His Presence. Somehow, He infuses us with His genuine joy even before the storm is lifted. Jesus gives us hope in the middle as He faithfully holds us and loves us, being present with us as our refuge and strength.

The Lord’s sovereignty rules and reigns over the storms. God’s Word gives us wisdom and insight, assuring us of His Presence in and through the storms.

• The disciples were in the middle of a storm (Luke 8:24-25).
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the middle of the fire (Daniel 3:17).
• The children of Israel were in the middle of Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-15, 31).
• The children of Israel were in the middle of the Jordan River (Joshua 3-4).
• Peter was in the middle of the wind and the waves (Matthew 14:28-33).

Yet, even in the middle of it all, the Lord led them, sustained them, provided for them, and carried them through to the other side.

When you are on the other side, you too will look back and see how the Lord Himself carried you! All to His glory! What He did for them, He will do for us! He is faithful to His Word and Promises.

As for the ‘why’ of the storm, storms serve as a backdrop for God’s glory to be displayed. Storms come so that we may fear the Lord always, putting our trust solely in Him. We learn of His unfailing love and care for us in the middle of the storms. Ultimately, the Lord gains all the glory and all will know that He alone is the only Savior and Deliverer. “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the Hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God” (Joshua 4:24).

When we like Peter, look at the winds and waves of our circumstances and take our eyes off Jesus, we will sink in doubt and fear, overwhelmed with anxiety. However, when we keep our eyes on Jesus, grounded in His Word and trusting in His promises, we can obey Him, having confidence that He will carry us through the storm.

When storms come, as they will for all of us in this life, run to the only One who can give us true peace and rest amidst them, “for He Himself is our Peace” (Ephesians 2:14). He alone can deliver us from the overwhelming trials and difficulties we face.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15