Weathering the Storm
Life is not all sunshine. It is not always a bright, summer day. On the voyage to the peaceful shore, we encounter the storm. The “contrary winds” seem to sweep us from the course and to thwart our purpose. Family difficulties, business reverses, wars and rumors of wars, temptations, unjust criticism, persecutions, sickness, death, all appear at times to go against us. The Master may be in the boat with us, yet the storm is inevitable.
“Into each life some rain must fall;
Some days must be dark and dreary.”
Sunshine and shadows, winter and summer, storm and calm, all must play their part in the drama of life. Every season has its mission, every trial its purpose. Pray not for the Master to withhold the storm, but for strength to endure it.
The storm may come with startling suddenness—a great bereavement, a bitter disappointment, a crushing defeat. Or the storm may come slowly. The dark cloud, “no larger than a man’s hand,” appears in the distant horizon; but the problem which seems so small and insignificant spreads until it covers our sky and shuts out the light. Since the storm is inevitable, a question of vital importance is, How should we behave amid the storm?
1. Let us keep our faith. Because of the storm we lose our bearings. We let go our grip. We do not always keep the simple faith of childhood. We experience a great shock. Our confidence is betrayed. Resulting from this, we often lose our faith. Like the disciples on the restless sea, we become fearful and faithless when the “great storm ariseth and the waves beat into the boat.” But why should we fear the storm when the Lord of the waves is in the boat with us? Why fret while Omnipotence reigns? While sailing to the city of Rome over the Great Sea, the apostle Paul encountered a terrific storm. For many days and nights the sun, moon and stars were invisible. Yet that great man never lost faith in the Supreme Power. During the darkness he relied on the Lord, and the Lord brought deliverance. Faith is the light in the storm. Let us lift up our heads, trusting Him who has power to still the tempest and make for our bark a peaceful path.
2. Let us also be hopeful. At times we allow the overhanging cloud to conceal the star of hope. We lost hope because we lose faith: for hope is a child of faith. Instead of mastering our troubles, we allow our troubles to master us. We become resigned to circumstances. I believe in the gospel of the smiling face and the set jaw, rather than the bowed head! Let us remember that the calm follows the storm, just as the day follows the night, and the springtime the cold, barren winter. When we see the storm approaching, as sailors on the sea of life, let us cast our anchor. Hope is the anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast; and far through the grim shadows and over the dark ocean, it opens a trace of golden splendor and unfolds the glimpses of the glory to come. Jesus said, “In the world ye have tribulation; but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.”
“Never you worry, never you fret,
Flowers shall bloom everywhere yet;
Blue must the sky be under the grey,
Clouds will blow over some sweet day;
These you remember, can God forget?
The best hasn’t happened to anyone yet!
When the day faileth and night mounts the skies,
Walk in the starlight until the sunrise.
Those your heart longs for draw near to you.
Keep yourself ready, keep yourself true.
Never you worry, never you fret,
God hasn’t done with your world yet.”
Results of the Storm
Another question of equal importance is, What are the results of the storm? What does the storm work for us and in us?
They tell us that the storm is cruel. It seems to wreck everything, leaving ruin and desolation in its wake. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the storm is kind. The blessings of life are often in disguise. We never know what adversities do for us until they are past and we sit down and calmly take inventory.
1. The storm reveals character. The strength of the house is unknown until it is tested by the elements. If there are weak places in the structure, the wind and the rain will disclose them. The storm does not necessarily make weak places, but it points them out, brings them to light. The strength or weakness of our heart is unknown until trials and tribulations come. These things do not necessarily weaken us; they point out our weaknesses. We were weak before they came, but did not know it. After the weak places in the structure of life are revealed, we can set our hand to the task of repairing them.
About fifty years ago [1906], the city of San Francisco was rocked in the agony of earthquake. Devouring flames followed, bursting forth in every section of the city. For three days and nights the flames continued, defying the power of man to stay them. When they died down, they left ruin and disaster where once stood a beautiful city by the sea. Yet that very disaster taught the men of San Francisco to build better houses. And the storm which seems to uproot and to burn and to destroy the flimsy structures we have erected, teaches us to build into our souls more enduring material.
2. The storm strengthens character. When the mighty wind sweeps across the forest, it is the rotten tree that falls. The worthy tree stands and is strengthened by the storm. When God wants to make a giant oak, he does not plant it in the valley under the protection of the hills, but on the hill-top, where it can battle with the angry elements. The tree that stands alone, unshielded, is the last tree to fall. When God wants to make a man, he does not shield him from life’s adversities, but places him on an eminence where the storm in full fury can strike him.
Some years ago a famous artist painted a picture entitled, “The Court of Universal Genius.” Orators, statesmen, philosophers, teachers and others who had attained eminence in the various departments of life stand there. Our attention is arrested by this astounding fact—every man who is preeminent for accomplishment was first preeminent for suffering. “In the foreground,” says an eminent writer, “stands the figure of the man who was thwarted in ambition and denied the promised land—Moses. Beside him another figure is feeling his way—blind Homer. The eye catches another figure holding the cup of poison—Socrates. Then comes the form of one who had been flogged and pounded out of all semblance of a man—Paul. Dante is there, his face eloquent with grief. Milton is there, blind and heart-broken. Now comes the form of one who towers above them all, of whom sacred writ says: ‘His name is above every name.’ Whence his preeminence? His face is marred more than any man’s! The artist might truly have written under that great picture, ‘The Storm.’”
3. The storm binds brother to brother. Whatever difference man may have with man, he forgets it and should forget it in the storm. We do not find our best friends by chance. We make them in the storm. Mutual sorrows and disappointments tend to unite us, creating in the heart of each a bond of sympathy of his brother.
4. The storm binds man to the Master. It is during the tempest that men hasten to the Lord, crying, “Master, Master, we perish!” Those who have crossed the Great Sahara have learned the value of a refuge. Men and animals have been lost there—buried alive—during the sandstorm. The hand of charity has erected houses here and there across the dreary desert waste as a shelter for those who undertake the journey. When the storm is seen, the travelers flee for shelter. For those storm-driven pilgrims on the way to a better land, there is Sheltering Rock and Safe Retreat. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” When we learn in the school of painful experience that we cannot deliver ourselves from threatening disaster, we hasten to the Rock of Ages,
5. The storm reveals the power and compassion of the Savior. “Carest thou not that we perish?” cried the frightened disciples. Did the Master care? Yes. He came to their rescue and stilled the tempest. Though he was not awakened by the roar of the mighty waves, he was sensitive to the feeble cry of His people. Jesus is concerned when we are tried. “He is touched with the felling of our infirmities.” An old preacher in Wales used to say, “heaven is near when the earth is in tumult.” When hearts are tempted and tried, when shadows fall across the path and danger threatens, heaven draws near to listen, to sympathize, to help.
6. And the storm beautifies life. In the book entitled “Sky Pilot,” at first there were no canyons or gullies—only the open prairies, covered with native grasses. The Master sent the birds to scatter the seed; and while many lovely flowers grew, he missed the ones he loved best. So, he spoke to the lightning. The prairie was cleft and torn to its very heart. Then came the gentle rain which ran through the clefts; after the rain, the warm southern sunshine. In due season the soft, green mosses, the trailing vines and the fragrant flowers appeared. Never had the spot been so beautiful. It was transformed by the storm. The storm of life, when endured with an uplifted head, adds to character a beauty, a sweetness, a gentleness like that of the Son of God.
“Peace, be Still”
Balmy days and bitter days, sunshine and shadows, calm and storm, all are yet in store for us. There is summering and wintering to come, perhaps more wintering than we shall enjoy. But out of these things God will bring a blessing. It is written: “We know that to them that love God all things work together for good.” After the Master spoke, “the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” The Lord “maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.” After a stormy career, Elijah found rest in the bosom of the Father. After bitter persecution and stones that crushed, Stephen “fell asleep.” Some day the Master of the sea will speak to your weary, storm-tossed soul, “Peace, be still.” At that very moment will come a great inward calm, that eternal peace “that passeth all understanding.”
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Frank L. Cox (1895-1978) attended Abilene Christian College, graduating Thorp Springs Christian College (1917). He was a preacher of the gospel for over 60 years. A prolific writer, Cox was author of over a dozen books and served as staff writer with Gospel Advocate for over 20 years. He served as an elder in Tyler, TX, from 1959 until his passing.