Article from 5/29/13

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It's dark, your vision is impaired, stability is in question, and you're unsure of when it will end. Many of us have experience driving in heavy rain on the highway. I travel back and forth to school from Temple to Austin Graduate School of Theology and a couple of months back I was truly terrified! On my way back one evening I drove into a thunderstorm. Everything became black as night and the roads began to change as if I were driving on top of a body of water. The car was moving side to side because of the wind and no matter how high the windshield wipers were turned up my vision was impaired. The only thing that I could make out were the hazard lights of those in front of me and the strips on the road. Those strips illuminated the path that I had to stay on. I prayed and I asked God to bless me to make it through. Now that I had prayed it was time for me to do my part. I slowed down so that I could maneuver the car in case I lost track to regain it, I turned on my high beams in order to see the strips on the road so that I could stay in my lane, and I slowly proceeded with caution. Usually on a clear day I would zip back to Temple now that the speed limit is 75 but today I had to be content that I was safe and take my time going through the storm until I made it through. Well guess what?!! I made it through! And what seemed like an hour was only about 15 minutes! I learned something that day when I faced the toughest storm I had ever driven through. I couldn't simply speed through the storm because I could kill myself. I couldn't pray the storm away either. I had to endure through the storm. I had to adapt to the storm. I had to learn to drive and progress, no matter how slowly, through it. I learned to be patient through the storm because it would eventually be over.

Our lives are just like the highway I mentioned above. Unexpected things are thrown our ways at different times and if you haven't yet one day you will go through a storm. What we must realize is that storms shouldn't always be looked at as a hassle. It shouldn't be looked at as something that we cannot overcome or learn something from. Sometimes in life we speed through not paying attention to the road signs of life or to the path we're on. We may go too fast and end up getting into trouble. We may get distracted by other passengers or cars on the highway and end up in the lane we aren't supposed to be in. We may even do foolish things that put our lives in danger like texting while driving. But then God will allow us to go through a storm! Proverbs 16:9

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Proverbs 16:9New King James Version

9 A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

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The storms in life will make us slow down and be patient because we have no other choice but too! If we drive too fast in a storm we lose traction and could hydroplane. When we try to speed through a storm we find that in most cases we end up crashing, in worst shape than we were to begin with. Sometimes we think we know when we need what we need and we have to realize that we do not know it all. I remember a preacher who was traveling to a gospel meeting and had just enough time to make it to the city he had to be in. Well when the preacher got ready to go his son asked to go with much hesitation he decided to allow him to go. Well the preacher was now thirty minutes late getting angrier by the minute on the highway as the traffic slowed down. He thought "If I had left sooner by myself I could have made it!" Well the preacher and son made it to the end of the backup of traffic and seen two cars mangled and wrecked to the point of where it looked like no one could have survived. It was then that the preacher realized that if he had not been delayed that could have been him. We have to learn to be patient as we travel down highway of life. We never know, God may be keeping us from encountering some danger or preparing us for something bigger along the way. We have to slow down so that we can safely trek our way to the goodness that is to come after this life, which is heaven. Isaiah 40:31

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Isaiah 40:31New King James Version

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31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

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The storms in life will make us pay closer attention to the markers that let you know that you're staying on the right path. God's word is like the markers when things are so dark that you can't see 20 feet in front of you. His word tells you not to engage in violent retaliation even though it's fulfilling to you. His word tells you not to commit adultery even though you feel as though you've not been treated with the love and respect promised to you in your vows. His word tells you not to engage in fornication and alcoholism even when it means being a social outcast. His word tells you to lovingly correct that younger sister instead of gossiping about her behind her back. His word tells you to be the head of your house even when your wife and children present you with opposition. His word keeps us on the safe path when we can't see clearly and our vision is impaired. Psalms 37:23-24

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Psalm 37:23-24New King James Version

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23 The steps of a good man are [a]ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

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The storms in life will cause you to be content. If we want to make it to the other side of the storm we must be content. We have to be content with the fact that we can't go as fast as we want to. We must be content that the lane that we're in is the lane that we have to stick to in order to avoid the reckless drivers in the fast lane. Sometimes when we go through our storms in lives we try to fix them ourselves instead of relying on God. We have money problems and we take loans with insane interest rates that we can't possibly pay back, instead of being content with what God has already blessed us with. We feel alone and we settle for the man/woman that has no intention of living for God, instead of waiting on the ONE that God has prepared for you. We have a nice rental duplex but we want a bigger house and we take out a mortgage that we can't possibly keep up with. We have $20 Skull Candy headphones, but we want to hear every sound that's made in our music and we guilt our parents into buy $400 headphones. 1 Tim. 6:6-8

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1 Timothy 6:6-8New King James Version

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6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, [a]and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

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Once you learn that when faced with a storm you must slow down, pay attention, learn contentment then you can have the peace that is found after the storm. The peace that passes all understanding. This peace will allow you to continue through your next storm because you can look in that rear view mirror knowing what you did to get through the last one. You can take the storm head on knowing how to drive safely through the same type of storm. And even if you come up in front of a storm that you haven't faced you know that God will guide you through the next one while you learn how its done all over again. These storms in life are not only beneficial to us making us stronger but they can benefit others as well. When you see someone coming up on the same storm you can throw on your hazard lights and say "hold on bro/sis!! This is how you handle..." Then when you both make it through you can look back and say "See! Heavy rain ain't so heavy!"

Proverbs 3:5-6

English Standard Version (ESV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

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