I May Not Like The Storms, But I Need Them.

​According to an old bible story, it was the end of a long day of teaching when Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." So, the disciples and Jesus piled into a boat and began to make their way.

Then, a storm came up from out of nowhere. A violent and life-threatening storm.

The disciples were terrified. Jesus was not. In fact, Jesus was sound asleep.

The panicked disciples woke Jesus up and basically asked him, what on earth is wrong with you? Don't you care that we're all about to drown?!?!

Jesus got up. Wiped his eyes. Turned his attention to the storm and told it to be quiet. The storm complied. The weather became completely calm.

The disciples had to be wondering, what's up with this guy? We were all perfectly safe and calm, having a wonderful day at the beach, and He drags us out into a storm that he surely knew was coming.

In a recent sermon, Steven Furtick said, "There's something God is trying to teach you in the storm he couldn't teach you on the shore."

Jesus wanted the disciples to learn that when he says we're headed to the other side, we are going to get to the other side. No storm is going to derail the plan.

It's a hard reality of life. Our best teacher is the teacher we least want to be around: The Storm. In the midst of a storm, we are much more likely to say, "go away, Storm," than we are to say, "thank you for being such a great teacher, Storm."

People have told me I am wise. I don't know how true that is, even if do feel as wise as I've ever felt. But to the degree that it is true, I know the wisdom is a gift from God—and the gift has been delivered through many, many storms.

Discovering this has helped me a lot. It is rare that I panic in the storms these days. Or, at least, it's much rarer than it used to be. In the midst of storms these days, I am much less likely to believe Jesus is asleep at the wheel, and much more likely to believe Jesus is wide awake and taking me somewhere I desperately need to go.

Somewhere I'd likely never go if it weren't for a storm.

Storms can feel like chaotic experiences without direction. But the reality is, the storms are often full of direction.

Full of instruction.

Full of wisdom.

I know it's natural to pray the storms away. I get it. But as hard as it is to accept, sometimes the storms are exactly what we need in our lives.

It can feel like the storm ruins a good day at the beach; maybe we have to start looking at the storm a little differently.