A Purpose in the Storm
But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
It has been said that the hammer shatters glass, but it forges steel. God has His purposes in the storms of our lives. God is in control, and He has a plan.
God knows all things in the past, present, and future. And God-and God alone-is uniquely qualified to know when to ordain or to permit evil and suffering and when not to. Therefore, if He allows, or even brings, something into your life, then He has a plan in mind for it.
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We love to follow the Lord when things are going the way we want them to go. But when we come across a rough patch, we put on the brakes. We don't want to go through that hardship.
That is why I like Psalm 23, one of the greatest Scripture passages in the Bible: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters" (verses 1–2). Then David goes on to say, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (verse 4).
We love those green pastures and still waters. But we are not really excited about a valley, especially when the shadow of death is written over it. But God is with us in those times as well. That is what is to follow the Lord.
Life on earth for the believer is as bad as it will ever get. If you are a Christian, realize that the worst time of your life is as bad as it will ever be. That is the hope we have.
And through the hardships of our lives, God can accomplish great things.
