Preparing for the Storms of Life

Every location has its own unique weather patterns, but everywhere you can live will have storms.  Some places have hurricanes while others deal with tornadoes.  There are places that experience sandstorms and others that get snow storms.  The winds will blow, and the storm will rage, at some point, everywhere.

As there are storms in the physical world, there are also storms in the spiritual.  Some storms are emotionally driven, while others are trials or sufferings.  A storm may bring an abundance of hardship or feel like a severe drought.

Whatever the storms that come your way, they will be easier to navigate and get through if you have prepared for them.

Prepare and Supply

In the physical world, we are taught to have water and food supplies that will get us through a storm.  In Colorado, it is possible to get snowed in for days, or even longer, and unable to get out for supplies.  It is important to have sufficient food and water, along with the ability to heat your space without outside intervention.  You need to have gathered your firewood before the winds start blowing and the snow falling.

When the hurricane strikes is not the time to start thinking about repairing the levee or having an alternative source of electricity.  By the time the storm comes, you need to already be prepared.

Spiritually, we need to be prepared for storms, as well.  The first, most important, thing we need to do is to be properly connected with the Lord.  We need to have a personal relationship with Jesus as our Savior.  We need to know our true identity as a beloved child of Father God.  Living in the power of the Holy Spirit will give us the strength we need, to not just survive the storms, but to thrive through them and to help others along the way.

A tree that has roots that go deep in the soil will be able to stand through the strongest winds.  If we are deeply rooted in the Lord and His ways, we will be able to stay erect and upright through the spiritual storms of life.  However, if our roots are shallow, or secured in the ways of the world, then we are vulnerable to be toppled by the wind of the storm.

Clean Up the Yard

Items that are strewn around the yard can become projectiles when the wind blows.  The tricycle, baseball bat, and soccer ball can all become airborne in a storm.  Dead tree branches can snap off and penetrate building walls.  Anything that is loose, untended to, or out of place can become damaging in the wind.

We may have hurts that, if left unhealed, will be used by the enemy to strike us when we are most vulnerable.  Unforgiveness is like having fence pickets laying around, waiting for the wind to pick them up and hurl them through the air.  Flying pickets are dangerous to everyone in their path.  

Before the storms come, we need to do the work of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is a process, not a one time event.  Releasing the right to be offended will bring us freedom and remove opportunities for the enemy to strike us.  We have more information on forgiveness in our book Breaking the Burdensome Yoke: A Discipleship Course in Forgiving and Grieving.  You can receive a free chapter or order a copy here.

There are frequently hurts, from long ago or more recent, that have been buried beneath unhealthy habits in our life.  We may use busyness to avoid the hurt of rejection.  There may be habits of perfection covering the fact that we did not feel accepted by our parents. 

Some habits are obviously not good.  If you have an addiction or struggle with something like anger, you need the Lord’s healing.  The Lord has called us to live in purity and righteousness.  Anything that is impure or unrighteous can be used against us, especially in the midst of a storm.

There could be habits that are seemingly not so bad.  But in the storm, they are magnified and could knock us down or disqualify us from our God given calling.  We need to search our hearts and see if there is any wicked way in us (Psalm 139:23-24).  Pruning away unhealthy habits, and tending to the roots of our life.

Secure the Hatches

In places that are impacted by hurricanes, they have storm shutters or boards that are placed over the windows and vulnerable places of their houses and buildings.  These provide an extra layer of protection for when the storm comes.  However, they do not make up for a lack of preparedness in everything else.

Salvation is not fire insurance for us to avoid eternal damnation while allowing us to live like hell on earth.  God’s love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), but His grace is not to be an excuse to sin (Romans 6).  We need to strive for holy living in all of our life.  Only then do the shutters of grace fully protect us from the storms.

After you have done the work of preparation, you can be secure in the face of storms.  In the spirit realm, we often find that before a big breakthrough, we experience a storm.  When properly prepared, we are able to come out of the storm stronger than we went in.  We are able to accomplish the big, God sized tasks of life and ministry.  Instead of being beat up and knocked out by the storm, we are pushed forward into the victories that the Lord has before us.

Are you prepared for life’s storms?  Do you have items of unforgiveness or unhealthy habits lying around needing to be picked up and thrown away.  Are your roots secure in the Lord and growing deeper?  Start your preparations now so the storm doesn’t catch you unprepared.