Last week a friend of mine checked on me to see how my blogging is going. He’s my accountability partner, each week I send him my post to preview before I share them with you. He sent me a text to let me know I’m late on blogging and I responded “It’s coming. My life just falling apart right now and blogging the last thing on my mind.” That’s honestly how I felt the past few weeks, hell the past 6 months I’ve felt like that. I’ve felt as if my life is falling apart in front of my eyes and anything I try to do to fix it, adds to the damage. So I decided to do nothing and that was even worse than trying to fix it. I became more pessimistic and less optimistic for what the future holds for me and Ethan.
Saturday, I decided I was going to get out of the house and hang with some friends. I did my makeup, styled my hair and got dressed but something in me told me to stay home. Stay home and go to church in the morning and that’s exactly what I decided to do. I took my makeup off, wrapped my hair and got in bed to ensure I was well rested for church in the morning. This turned out to be the best decision I’ve made.
I’m not someone who is super religious. I didn’t grow up in church and I’m just now learning more about the Bible and the never ending love of the Heavenly Father. I attend church at a movie theater, it’s super laid back, inviting and the message is easy to follow. For the month of October, the pastor delivered a series of sermons on staying positive. Each week I’ve sat in the crowd trying to find my connection to the messages and I just couldn’t but yesterday, I felt as if it was just me & God in the theater and he was speaking directly to me through the pastor.
This week’s message was “God’s Got This!” The pastor preached from Mark 4:35-41. In this passage, Jesus and his disciples crossed the lake in the mist of the storm. While the disciples were freaking out Jesus was asleep in the rear of the boat. He slept calmly while the disciples were frantic and rightfully so, they were about to potentially lose it all. The boat began to fill with water as the winds became more violent. The disciples frantically woke God up; he rebuked the wind and instantly the storm stopped and there was a calm. He turned to question the disciples and asked “why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” I instantly knew this message was for me. Lately I’ve been freaking out, trying to control uncontrollable and questioning my faith. Meanwhile I’ve failed to realize that God’s got this. Before I knew I had a problem he had a solution. He's had a proven track record of being the most reliable person in my life.
Although the storm the disciples were going through was a physical storm and mine is a spiritual storm, it’s still a storm. A storm that God has been present for. This sermon reminded me that he’s never left my side and I need to remain optimistic even in times of darkness. He’s not frantic so why should I be? I should be confident that everything I’m experiencing is not in vain. Each trial and tribulation is helping to build character. Although it seems like you’re the only one experiencing these ups and downs you’re not. Everyone is battling some type of storm and if you aren’t already you will eventually. Everyone's storm is different and people don't display their troubles but know you are not alone.
You’re going to make it to the other side of whatever storm you’re going through, just as the disciples did. If God would have told you what type of storms you would be facing, I’m 100% sure you would have thrown in the towel or opted for a different route, I know I would have. My faith in God let’s me know that there’s no need to throw in the towel and surrender because he’s got this. He’ll never leave me to fight my battles alone, even when it feels as if I’m fighting a losing battle. Just as he created the storm he’ll also calm it. You can’t just have faith in God when things are going well; when things aren’t going as expected you also have to keep the faith.
When life becomes overwhelming tap into your positivity. Be encouraged and know that not every storm is a disaster. Some storms are moments of cleansing and are there to clear your paths. After every storm is a calm and the things you are going through now are not permanent. They are lessons needed to strengthen your faith, build character and help you grow. This too shall pass.
"God promises to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life."- Romans 8:28
This too shall pass! Great great great!!
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