This post on Surviving the Storm was written by Jeffrey Chen, who is pursuing a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Fuller Theological Seminary. Jeffrey has a passion for sharing God’s love with those around him. He blogs at The Wayvy Life.
In my last post, I talked about choosing to suffer. But what about when we suffer not by choice or sacrifice? What about when we are hit with suffering for no understandable reason at all? What about when others hurt us or bad things happen to us? This could be breaking a bone, coming down with an illness, being abused, losing our job, depression, the end of a relationship, among countless other hardships. Sometimes we face multiple difficulties all at once. Nothing seems to be going our way, and we ask God the big question: “Why?”
I am not here to answer that question for you. I do not know why you or others are going through tough times. Instead, I hope to help you survive the storm and make it through the challenges you are facing. I know it may seem like there is no way out. It may seem like the rain, thunder, and lightning just keep on coming. The waves are not letting up. They may even be getting rougher and rougher. There may be no end in sight. And that can be really hard.
So what do you do? While you may not have control of the storm, you have to hold to hope. Hope that the storm will end one day. It may not end anytime soon, but it will not last forever. There will be better days. Not only in this lifetime, but more importantly in eternity. If we put our faith in Him, God promises an end to all suffering in our lives in heaven. I know, that seems like forever away. But, it will be more than worth the wait. So, I encourage you to keep the faith in a future of eternal sunshine.
That being said, I understand that it is not easy to focus on hope alone in the midst of a storm. Especially when that hope seems so far off you can’t even see it. What else will help? Try focusing less on the storm and more on the ship. Be thankful that you have a boat in the first place to keep you afloat. I am talking about the resources you have to survive. The people you have with you, the savings you have, the treatments you have. And use them! Ask others for help, whether it is family, a friend, a doctor, a therapist. They may be just what you need to get through this rough patch in life.
Finally, remember the God you have. The God who even the waves obey. And even when your boat is flooding and you feel like you are drowning, do not be afraid. He will not allow you to go through more than you can handle. God is present with you always, even when you do not see or feel Him. Trust that He is watching over you. Trust that He will rescue you if need be. Trust that while the storm may not stop soon, He will never stop caring for you and loving you. You are not alone in this storm. God will never abandon you. I encourage you to remember that as you go through this storm or future storms in life.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me for feedback, questions, suggestions on topics, or anything else. I’m happy to chat about anything and everything. I hope you could take away something helpful from this post. You can reach me at thewayvylife@gmail.com!
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Hello, Jeffrey! I am thankful to God for helping me survive 2018. I suffered depression for the past years and I never imagined that I can make it this 2018. Our God is a wonderful God. He helped me deal with all my problems and made me a better person. Now, I can travel, work, and study once again. I am renewed. I have strengthened my relationship with God.
Jennifer, so wonderful to hear how God has worked in your life. He truly is a wonderful God! May your relationship with Him continue to grow in 2019.