Focusing on God Amidst Life’s Storms

Posted on Jun 04, 2020 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living

Perhaps the most important truth I have learned is that God can be trusted—because He is good. And the way I know His goodness is through knowing His love. For too many years I thought God was kind of temperamental and looking for an excuse to be angry and disappointed with me. I believed that I had to earn His love through my actions and attitudes.

Problem was, I could never begin to live up to being the kind of perfect person I thought He expected me to be. If His love and blessing were dependent upon me—well, then I was in big trouble. All my years on the performance treadmill kept me sweating and striving but getting nowhere. Instead of accepting His love, I became bitter and depressed. The idea that God loved me no matter what and that I was actually “free in Christ” seemed too good to be true.

But it is true.

I have found so much freedom in living a life of simple trust in Jesus and letting go of all my efforts to be the “ideal Christian.” When I finally got to the end of myself, it was there that I discovered for the first time how much my heavenly Father really cared for me. I saw that all the accomplishments I’d made on my own journey were not because of my hard work, but because of God’s grace.

Sometimes all I’ve needed to do was show up, trust as best as I could, and keep an ear tuned to that still, small voice inside me—a voice that speaks loud and clear even as it speaks without words. I’ve learned to pay attention to the nudges of the Spirit that can help keep me on track. When I mess up, which happens a lot, I know God loves me. I embrace that forgiveness and keep going. With Him life is an adventure, and what He continues to do in me is a miracle still unfolding every day.

Most of all, I believe in the One who is there with each of us in every storm we go through, who loves us unconditionally and unwaveringly. He walks with us through the dark times and dances with us to celebrate the best moments. He is what every father is meant to be, the very model of fatherhood: tender, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love. Whenever He needs to be a little tough on us, it is always for our best. He is not just our heavenly Father—He is Abba, our Daddy.

When circumstances are at their worst, He does not leave us to face them alone. He rolls up His sleeves and, without hesitation, dives into the middle of every mess in which we find ourselves. He is there with us in the middle of every one of our storms.

He is the Eye of the Storm.