How do you think I felt today when all that was predicted was sun and 75 degree temperatures but I walked outside of class to find that it was raining? Not very pleased. It wasn't so much the fact that I was getting rained on but rather that I didn't expect it or get to prepare for it. You'd think that after living in Lubbock for 10 years I would be used to unpredictable weather by now, but it still bothers me when what was supposed to be a beautiful day turns out to be stormy and dreary.
After feeling frustrated for a little bit, I giggled at myself for putting so much hope into a weather forecast on an iPhone app. I started thinking about the season of life I am currently in. It isn't what I would necessarily call a happy, sunshine-y time. I am walking through storms I did not expect to walk through. I planned for clear skies and breezy days, but all of the sudden I was hit with darkness and melancholy. My initial reaction was confusion and anger. I had plans, I had expectations, I did not want the joyful season of my life I was in to be over and I did not feel at all prepared to face the storm that was engulfing me. As I've come to terms with what is happening, I have received a lot of peace from the Lord and felt Him so near to me. I have learned three major things about why storms and unanticipated hardships are good and why we can be joyful in them:
1. The Lord uses times of pain, sadness, confusion, and loss to mold us into who we are called to be. Most of us want to be forgiving, kind, generous, bold people but how do we expect to become that unless we go through trials that teach us to forgive, teach us to sympathize, and teach us to trust God? Sometimes we need the things of this world that are bringing us comfort and happiness to be stripped away in order to remember our great need for Jesus. He alone is everything that we need and the more we can soak in that truth, the more we will become like Him. I have never known somebody to walk through a hardship with God and say that what was on the other side was not beautiful and worth the suffering.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us." Romans 8:18
2. We're not entitled to comfort, happiness, or success in this life; our purpose is simply to love! As Christians, we hear time and time again that God's two greatest commandments are to love Him and love thy neighbor. But this really cannot be emphasized enough. Living in this world, especially in America, we are constantly being trained to be selfish and to pursue our own happiness and personal gains. I find that the more we have, the more we feel entitled to. Once we have been living in comfort and security, the last thing we want is to give that up. But this goes against the essence of God and who we're called to be. Our motivation and intentions behind everything we do should be to love the people around us. If we must make sacrifices to pursue the ministry he is calling us to or to help somebody in need, we have to be willing to do so. When God takes something away, realize that no earthly possessions are yours to keep. Don't indulge in self-pity but instead focus your energy on loving those around you. When we are driven by love and selflessness, it is a lot easier to feel our burdens lifted.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal." Matthew 6:19
3. Our citizenship is in Heaven, not this world. Because of the cross, we get the chance to spend eternity in a place with no storms, forever basking in the light and glory of Our Creator. While we walk this earth, there will be days that are full of sunshine and joy and goodness. We will not want those days to end and will hold those days close to our hearts because we felt alive and were experiencing the abundant life Jesus offers us. There will also be days of deep sorrow and emptiness as we feel the weight of the broken world caving in on us. But as soon as we enter the gates of Heaven, those days will be forgotten as we experience joy and fullness like never before. For a single day in his courts is better than a thousand anywhere else (Psalm 84:10). No matter where we go in this life, we are ultimately going home. Whatever storms we must walk through on earth, we can bear them because we have the hope of Heaven!
So my plans were turned upside down. So I am in a place I did not want or expect to be in. So I am in a stormy season of life and part of me wishes I could rewind or fast forward. But Jesus has drawn me near to Him, reminded me that He is more than enough for me, and has allowed me to be joyful through the pain. Some days the rain feels light and manageable. Some days I can see the sun peaking through the clouds. Other days, I feel the rain weighing down heavily on me, not allowing me to see or think clearly. But through it all, I know my God is constant and He is working and because of that, I can dance in the rain! I am grateful to be exactly where I am because it is exactly where He needs me.
"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
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