do you currently feel like you're
trapped in something bigger than you
something that feels
insurmountable something you know deep
within requires a supernatural
intervention to be
solved that is a storm storms are events
in our lives that we can't fight with
our natural human
strength they are hard parged ground
that our natural human effort cannot
plow they are trying times
seasons of intense contradiction and
opposition to all that we possess and
believe if you are caught up in such a
storm God's word is about to come to you
if it appears that all hope is lost and
it seems you can't find a way out God is
about to speak to
you are you in a huge financial
situation are your lenders hounding you
or do you have a Health Challenge the
doctors are already giving up on
or maybe you're caught in a crisis of
identity just pay attention through
today because God will be meeting you at
your point of
need we will be sharing with you God's
purpose and your
situation it's going to transform your
life in a way that you least expect also
Endeavor to follow through to the end to
participate in a powerful prayer session
of surrender to God you need to watch
out for the prayers we'll be praying for
you you'll be illuminated and EMP
powered to walk through the
storm as human beings we have a natural
instinct to preserve
ourselves our bent is to shun
unfavorable circumstances and cling to
appealing
ones we readily move away from whatever
makes us feel
uncomfortable and it's easy to know why
that is we're taught and programmed
largely by society that whatever brings
pain isn't good every pain is
unprofitable and and
unnecessary but this isn't true ask a
mother about the surpassing joy of
motherhood that obscures the travail of
Labor ask a student about the
exhilarating fulfillment of graduating
with honors something that far outweighs
the Pains of the disciplines of burning
the midnight oil in
school not every pain is bad not every
suffering or challenge is an end in
itself God is Not on aware of the storms
in your life he knows and he's already
begun working on fashioning Glory out of
it there are two reasons Storms Come
into our lives the first is due to our
own
mistakes we sometimes lead ourselves
right into a storm either through
innocent ignorance or willful
Disobedience we're stuck maybe because
we engage in a business deal God has
prompted us not to do or because we
maintained a relationship that was not
godly or consistent with our values I
mean there are myriads of ways this can
happen the second reason we encounter
storms is because of spiritual
warfare these are the times the enemy
raises up a standard against us and all
that's ours our family our spouse our
career our finances health and so on so
these are two ways we can experience
times of
distress it's important to mention also
that there's the likelihood of
experiencing antagonism from both
sources both our errors and the devil's
attack but either way God is able and
willing to
deliver Psalm
103:4 describes God as the one who
redeemeth thy life from
destruction notice God did not put a
caveat to his his Deliverance he did not
introduce a
clause he's not delivering you unless
you made sure you're not the cause of
the problem he's not delivering you only
after you've suffered enough no God
delivers because it's who he is it's in
his nature to
deliver now there are three very crucial
points God reveals to us in his word
about challenging
times these three truths if known and
understood will give you the inner
stamina to trudge through the
storms they will keep you firm
irrespective of the troubles you
face first there's no way out nothing
saps the joy of living like
hopelessness nothing strips us of the
juice of life like the tortures of being
in a hopeless
situation hope is what keeps you alive
when times are tough if you're caught in
a storm you must always remember that
there is hope there is a way
out it's not over yet you're not
finished in 1 Corinthians 10:13 the
spirit of God inspired these words
through the great
Apostle there hath no temptation taken
you but such as is common to man but God
is faithful who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able
but will with the Temptation also make a
way to escape that you may be able to
Bear
it see there's a way out you must always
remember that you have not reached your
end God has prepared a way out even
before you entered into that
situation he's planned a way of escape
from the taunt of life's
challenges with God there's no Financial
stops there's no No End of the
Road God can make a road out of
seemingly impossible
situations when the storms of famine hit
the ancient nation of Israel in the days
of the Prophet Elijah God created a
miraculous way within a 24-hour
window the records of 2 Kings chapters 6
and 7 tells us how God shamed the
enemies of Israel who besieged them and
restored prosperity to that land again
God made a way for job after he suffered
a heavy blow and lost all he had he was
restored
twofold the first chapter and the last
chapter of the Book of Job have the
records of the double he received for
his
troubles God always has a way out for us
in
storms a way that leads us straighted
back into
Prosperity a way that restores all that
the devil has stolen
the Second Great truth about challenging
times is that God is there with
you this is just awesome the omnipotent
Almighty Jehovah God is present with you
in your
troubles one of my favorite portions of
scripture is Isaiah 43
2-3 God promises that when thou passest
through the waters I will be with thee
and through the rivers they shall not
overflow thee when thou walkest through
the fire Thou shalt not be burned
neither shall the flame Kindle upon thee
isn't that just
beautiful the Apostle Peter spoke about
exceeding great and precious promises
that God offers us I mean think about it
for a moment God promises to be in the
storm with you and to protect you from
the harms they could cause and he isn't
kidding when he says it remember when
Jesus Christ came as the Son of God to
Earth he was in the boat with his
disciples he experienced the storm with
them but he was
Victorious that was God the son showing
us what God the Father does for us
Hebrews 4:15 says that we have not a
high priest which cannot be touched with
the feelings of our
infirmities God is with you in the storm
he's not only paved way out of the storm
for you he's there in the storm with you
he's there every step along the journey
experiencing every bit of the harshness
from the
elements the last great truth about the
storm is that God has a purpose for the
storm now this leads us to the
omniscience of God it brings us into the
infinite wisdom of
God it always Marvels me how God could
use the most malevolent experiences of
Our Lives to form the most Pleasant
details of our
person as new life Springs from Death so
also does God issue beauty from
ashes you can be sure of this God did
not push you into the storms he did not
throw you into the challenges you face
now it came either through your own
doing or it's a plain assault of the
devil God however is a master designer
he often uses these trials to build us
to make us stronger James 1 2-4 says
consider it pure joy my brothers when
You Face Trials of many kinds because
you know that the testing of your faith
develops
perseverance perseverance must finish
its work so that you may be mature and
complete not lacking
anything that is the Divine snapshot of
the purpose of the challenges we face as
children of God tough moments are not
designed to destroy us instead they're
utilized to toughen us diamonds are
produced under intense pressure we
Harvest them from the earth and consider
them very precious and
valuable silver is purified under
intense heat we Adorn them and hold them
in high
regard these materials Beauty emerge
only because they've been subjected to
seemingly adverse
conditions the pressures that easily
crushed other materials form
Diamonds the Flames that readily burn
other materials purify
silver the storms that drown and Destroy
others will only prune you and make you
better it's only a tool in the hands of
God to mature and complete
you God has a purpose in your
situation Don't Panic everything is well
under
control God is not up there scratching
his head trying to figure out how to get
you out of your
predicament no he has it all figured out
he knows perfectly why he's placed
everything the way it is he's not
delaying to come and save you he's right
there with you playing his part in
rescuing accompanying and maturing you
through it all do you now have a better
view of the entire situation do you
understand better that you're not
orphaned that God can be trusted in
spite of everything happening with
you beloved God is for you he's not the
one against you God says in Jeremiah
2911 that for I know the plans that I
have for you plans to prosper you and
not to harm you plans to give you a hope
and a
future that verse is a peak into the
mind of God concerning his children it's
an x-ray of the intentions of God for
everyone that belongs to him he has
great plans for you plans to give you a
hope and a
future the process might not look like
it but that doesn't alter the expected
outcome
the means might seem uncomfortable but
God always wins
ultimately Satan will not sure change
you his schemes will not overpower you
neither will the storms sweep you away
God will come for you and it just the
right
time trust how God coordinates the chain
of events in your
life he's infinite in wisdom he knows
just what he's doing and trying to
achieve don't go around complaining
complaining doesn't change anything
whining has not helped anyone yet
instead it muddles up the entire
situation and gives you a warped
perspective don't stop and settle down
in the
storm someone once said that the only
thing to do while going through a storm
is to keep going don't sit in the storm
soon you'll be out of
it how
true that person was trying to say that
you shouldn't put a pause on your entire
life's activities because something went
wrong in one area of your
life many people stop dreaming because
they experience a challenge in one
aspect that concerns them they say oh
life has dealt me a fatal blow I'll
never rise again no do not utter
statements like that I call them
terminal statements they're words that
take the enthusiasm and zest for life
out of you they're draining statements
they remove from your soul the inner
strength that you could use to get
yourself off the
ground don't pass the wrong judgment on
yourself it's not finished yet you're
not finished yet get up shake off the
dust that has covered you Dawn awaits
you soon the Rays of lights will pierce
through the darkness of your stormy
night the boisterous winds will stop the
calm will return again when there is
life there is hope and where there is
God there is guaranteed victory at the
end you know I always think of Paul and
Silas in that dark damp dungeon in
Philippi whenever I speak along these
lines they were both men of outstanding
endurance and proven
character I mean they had every reason
in the world to sulk and whine in the
first place they were innocent they
hadn't done anything that warranted them
any term in jail they had committed no
civil or moral
offense they came to that City bearing
the words of eternal life the envy and
greed of their detractors were the only
reason they were suffering
unjustly they had been harassed and
beaten by the Romans after a mock court
session Justice wasn't really served so
at midnight with hands and feet held
apart in stock in a lce infected dungeon
they had every reason to begin
scratching each other's back rehear
vering back and forth the ordeal they
had gone through that day or better
still they could have entered into an
argument a discourse with God explaining
to him all the reasons they didn't
deserve the lot that had fallen on
them they had a choice an endless list
of possible reactions to their
situation instead they chose to praise
God at midnight at the darkest time they
chose to praise God they chose to exalt
God
I can imagine the scene in my
mind first they must have begun with
weak faint and quaking
Whispers then as they continued in an
almost silent somber worship they must
have felt the strength of God well up
within them with each statement of
doxology they
uttered they must have felt God
empowering them to raise their voices in
Comfort hope and
joy they prayed and sang Praises until
the prisoners heard them that simple Act
of acknowledging God in the midst of
their pain and confusion liberated them
acts 16:26 tells us the response of God
to them and suddenly there was a great
earthquake so that the foundations of
the prison were shaken and immediately
all the doors were open and everyone's
bands were
loosed God always responds in
Deliverance when we pray and praise
right in the midst of our troubles in
the midnight of Our
Lives this event led to the Salvation of
the Jailer and his entire
household God had a greater purpose than
all the chaos that was happening in
their life the Jailer and his house were
saved and Paul and Silas left that city
with a deeper knowledge and a greater
confidence in the delivering power of
God whenever we pass through storms we
may not understand the why fully but if
we maintain the right perspective and
attitude we will always come out much
better than we entered we will always
have a testimony of the goodness and
faithfulness of
God in our journey of life we may find
ourselves on a torturous path we may
find ourselves hemmed in challenges that
threaten and confront what we believe
and stand
for in times like this we must hold on
to the Integrity of the character and
nature of
God chaos May surround me roundabout and
I may never get a full explanation from
God about why I go through the things I
go through but I still will trust that
God is good and that he is good to me
and he has a purpose behind every storm
I
encounter let's
pray dear God you are good and always
good I have set you always before me
because you are at my right hand I shall
never be
moved I shall never be moved by the
rising Raging Waves around me I I shall
never be moved by my
fears I shall never be moved by what I
do and do not understand I shall be firm
and confident that you're with me I
shall be firm and confident that thy rod
and thy staff they comfort
me you are my shepherd Lord you are the
one who leads me on the paths of
righteousness and I know that Paths of
righteousness are not always smooth I
know that Paths of righteousness could
also be littered with frightening storms
that I can't
hush I know that Paths of righteousness
sometimes lead me through the scary
Valley of the shadow of
death and I will not always understand
why Lord my boast is that thou art with
me for with you I can stare the fiercest
lines of contradiction right in the eyes
and charge toward them I can walk on the
waves of the unsettled sea and leap over
limitations I believe that your presence
your strength and your grace is all I
need to pass through my trying
time for although my fig trees do not
blossom neither shall the fruit be in my
Vines and the labor of the olive fails
and the fields shall yield no meat the
flock shall be cut off from the fold and
there shall be no herd in the
Stalls yet I will rejoice in the Lord I
will joy in the god of my
salvation the Lord God is my strength
and he will make my Fe feet like hindes
feet and he will make me to walk upon
mine high
places dear God I'm convinced that you
always have my interest at heart and
shall never permit me to venture into a
situation that spells my
in thank you for keeping me safe with
you thank you for lifting my sight
beyond the temporalities and focusing me
on the Eternal work you're doing in my
soul I'm grateful for the very trial
that has come my way for it is making me
stronger more stable able and more
mature in your will for my
life such trials decorate me to be a
walking breathing testimony of your
delivering power and
strength oh gracious God stop at nothing
as you mold me and fashion me to reflect
your radiant glories to my
world do not hold back as you finish
your Divine work in my heart and make me
a testament of your loving kindness and
Grace thank you for the purpose in my
storms thank you you for your purpose in
my
storms I believe that your ways are
perfect and that you're steering toward
my
perfection I'm grateful Lord eternally
grateful in Jesus name I pray
[Music]
amen