Staying Courageous In the Stormy Seasons

Staying Courageous in the Stormy Seasons—Devotional Reading, August 23, 2023

Perceiving oneself as blessed should prevent the onset of discouragement and depression when the stormy seasons enter and escalate in our lives. But our human hearts are fragile. When the rains of distress pour on us, often, we share our dilemmas with friends and family who cannot provide the answers or actions to resolve our circumstances.

Yes, we can seek emotional support during the storms [trials], but we need to bring our prayerful petitions for help to God first.

“…But those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.” —Psalm 34:10

Trending Social media posts state, “God is silent, He never answered my prayers.” There is a disconnect between our comprehension of seeking God and God’s definition of seeking Him. We desire a God-on-Demand who rescues us immediately from our tribulations. With little time devoted to worshipping God, we do not understand His ways, nor do we possess the willingness to suffer. So we pray once or twice and give up on God because we desire immediate cessation of the storms.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33

Jesus gave us many warnings that we would suffer hardships throughout our earthly journey. Without a firm foundation in the strength of Christ, we easily succumb to the tribulations which bring stormy waves of sorrow and hopelessness. Yet, it is the stormy seasons that build our faith and give us courage.

Not every storm is a trial allowed by God to change our character. Depending solely on our judgment and distrusting others can lead to detrimental choices and substantial adverse consequences in our lives. We agree that busyness impacts most people. With little time left, we are too busy to pray for God’s wisdom and study the Scriptures for guidance.

The Bible is our Guidebook that we use to find out, “What decisions should I make based on the Scriptures?” So instead of feeling blessed, we are overwhelmed from attempting to navigate through life without Divine Help. Excluding God from one’s life produces spiritual unrest, and disconnects us from the Source of life.

Still, we are not in a hopeless predicament. In humility, we acknowledge our disobedience and repent if we caused the storm. Even if we are the cause of our storm, God never forsakes us. We must have steadfast courage and undoubting faith to believe in God and His promises. God is our Source, He gives us the spiritual strength to endure every storm.

Character-changing storms usually have a longer duration and feel as if they will never end. Pray and ask God to reveal the unrighteous behaviors that He is using the stormy season to purge from your character. There are four Chapters—1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 5, Ephesians 5, and James 3—that God expects for every believer to study and measure their characters against. With a prayer of surrender pray for the Divine strength to persevere and endure.

Some storms are the result of spiritual warfare, especially conflict with others. Even so, Christ gives His permission before any trials from Satan are brought into our lives. God will never allow Satan to crush the righteous! Read Job Chapter 1.

During the Stormy Seasons, Pray Often for Divine Help!

David had many troubles but wrote the steps we need to take during the seasons of hardships and also gave us wonderful words of encouragement, God always delivers the righteous!

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” —Psalm 34:15-16

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” —Psalm 34:17-18

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” —Psalm 34:19

Choosing to surrender to God on a daily basis is a personal decision that demonstrates our love for Him. Jesus designed us to have a dependent relationship with Him, built on love, trust, and obedience. These spiritual qualities not only keep us connected to Christ, but also ensure that we are following God’s will.

David’s Petition: “Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.” —Psalm 27:7

The winds of tribulations are harsh, blowing with such force that we fall. We must cry out for Help! Who can persevere through the storm without Christ’s strength? Never forget that God’s goal is to save our souls and give us eternal life.

Spiritual maturity is demonstrated through God-reliance. No one is stronger than the one who depends on God!

Reflect on your lifestyle and make drastic changes if you do not have time to put God first! Developing a lifestyle of worship is intentional and takes concerted action on our part. When our lives are peaceful and we diligently pray and study the Bible every day, our dependency on God acts as a spiritual catalyst to immediately cry out to God when our stormy trials begin.

God knows that building our faith, trust, and confidence and changing our character into the likeness of Christ is achieved in the stormy seasons. Yes, the seasons that make us wish for Jesus to say, Peace be still, are working for our good and His glory!

Even if the intensity and duration of the storm lasts longer than we anticipated, practicing God-Reliance gives us unwavering confidence fueled by our faith and trust in God’s promises of deliverance.

Pray in faith and wait. God’s promises are Yes to which we say, Amen!

Scripture: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” —Psalm 34:19

Prayer: God, we thank You for Your Divine Love. Please forgive our self-reliance and doubt. Lord, we are in a storm and need Your strength to make it through. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayer that we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries