Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
Someone has said, “Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass. . . it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” There’s a lot of truth in that statement.
You know, none of us is exempt from storms; and in fact, God sends and allows storms in our lives to be used for good. In Acts 27 we read about a storm that came upon Paul as he was sailing to Rome. Paul was a prisoner; and there he was as a prisoner in a storm. And don’t miss this: He was in that storm because God was sending him where God wanted him to be—in Rome. This storm did not catch God by surprise. God didn’t look down and say, “Oh, my goodness, what is happening to Paul? How in the world did he get himself in such a mess?”
No, Paul was in that storm because he was doing God’s will. He was a prisoner because he was preaching the gospel. You remember after Jesus had fed the five thousand, he told the disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They did what Jesus told them to do and guess what happened: They found themselves in the midst of a storm. Another time they followed him onto a boat, and he went to sleep, but without warning a furious storm came up on the lake. A storm on the lake and Jesus was in the boat.
In all these situations, Paul and the disciples were doing exactly what Jesus told them to do, and they found themselves in the midst of terrible storms. If anyone tries to tell you that a Christian is exempt from storms, they are not telling you the truth! Nothing in Scripture would validate that belief. In fact, just the opposite. Peter writes:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13).
Your storm has not taken God by surprise. So, as you face your storm today—or whenever it comes along—ask God to show you how to dance in the rain. To rejoice even in the midst of the storm. It is the joy of the Lord that is your strength, and if you will choose to dance in your storm, you will have the strength you need to endure it.