There's a little wall art board in my house that says "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." Obviously it's not telling me to literally go out and dance every time the heavens open and the rains pelting off the ground. But what exactly is this saying? Basically, it means no matter what life throws at you, make the best out of it. Get up and work through it. Enjoy yourself through everything.
There's plenty of times in life you'll just want to curl up in a ball and not wake up until something's passed. Whether it be exams, sickness, addictions, depression, anything; for most of us we'll experience that feeling at some point. At these times though what should we do? Do we just lose the will to live and not do anything? Lose faith in God? Or take it out on those closest to us? Maybe we do all of these things and more. Even in these tough times though, God is always there - Hebrews 13:5, "... I will never leave thee nor forsake thee". And that's a promise.
So that's what God tells us about the storm but what are we meant to do? Just sit and let the storm rage around us? No. If you haven't already worked it out, I love Matt Redman and Casting Crowns. If you've never heard of them, run and YouTube them right now. Well, both of them have written songs telling us exactly what to do when life's tough:
"Every blessing you pour out,
I'll turn back to praise!
And when the darkness closes in Lord
Still I way say...
Blessed be the Name of the Lord,
Blessed be Your Name!"
That's Matt Redman's take on it. No matter if the blessings are flying in from God (which they always are even if we don't notice it), or if the darkness is rising around us and life's just too hard, still sing and shout "Blessed be Your Name." We are told in the book of Pslams that "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." If that doesn't comfort you in life, nothing will. God made today, tomorrow, and every other day. That means he is in control. He won't throw anything at you that you can't handle. So rejoice, be glad and praise Him!
Casting Crowns wrote "Praise You In This Storm":
"And I'll praise You in this storm,
And I will lift my hands,
For You are who You are,
No matter where I am.
And every tear I've cried,
You hold in Your hand,
You never left my side,
And tho' my heart is torn..
I will praise You in this storm."
That's the way that we should live. Understand that God knows all the pain your going through plus many times more. After all He did die on the cross for you. He understands exactly how we feel, so He knows what we can deal with. Praise Him in the storm and no matter what happens, you'll come out the other end a stronger, better person for it with a stronger faith in God.
Let's remember, as Christians not to put our head in the sand when life gets tough. No matter how hard it gets, let's stand up, be counted and praise God and bless His Name. When the storm comes, don't wait for it to pass; get up and dance in the mercy and love of God. And if you aren't a Christian, turn to God and you'll realise the strength and help that He can give you when you're not on top of the world. Praise Him In The Storm!
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