Life requires perseverance. Going through difficult times in this world is not a question of if but when. It's not all bad though. There is always love, faith and hope to carry us through any of the storms of life that we find ourselves in.
I want to encourage you to persevere through the storm you may be facing today with three examples from the scriptures of people who did the same.
Jesus Calms The Storm
They came and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are about to die!" So he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they died down, and it was calm.
Luke 8:24
One day Jesus and his followers got on a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. Jesus left the navigation duties to his disciples and laid down for a nap. Once the boat had made it far from shore a violent storm descended upon them and the disciples panicked. The waves were raging so much that the boat was filling with water. Fear gripped the men as they struggled to bail out the water and survive the intense situation they were in. Eventually they shouted at Jesus, "We're all going to die!"
Jesus woke up from his nap, told the wind and waves to be calm and it was so. Jesus wasn't afraid of the storm, he was sleeping peacefully before his friends forced him to get up. Jesus understood that our heavenly father is with us at all times. We need not fear the storms of life. What's interesting is that there are multiple times in scripture that God actually interacts with humans through a dark storm (Job 38:1, Nahum 1:3, Exodus 20:21).
If God is in the dark storm and we are at one with God, then the storm is simply an extension of ourselves, we can choose to be empowered by the storm! I believe Jesus had power over the storm because in his heart he knew that I AM the storm.
The Woman and The Prophet
...he picked him up and took him to his mother. He sat on her lap until noon and then died. She went up and laid him on the prophet's bed...
2 Kings 4:20-21
A rich woman befriended a prophet of God who would travel through her city every now and again. She treated him with respect and set up a private room in her house for him to rest whenever he was in town. The prophet wanted to repay her kindness and asked her if she needed him to put in a good word with the King. She replied, "Thank you but I am quite secure." So the prophet decided to bless her with something that money and prestige couldn't buy, a child!
The child grew and one day he complained of having a terrible headache which ended up being the death of him that same day. He died in his mother's arms. The woman laid her son on the prophet's bed and set out immediately to find the prophet. People asked her where she was going in such a hurry and what is wrong? She told them everything is fine! It must've taken great faith to literally have your child die in your arms and to say that everything is fine. She knew if she could persevere to the prophet that God would do the impossible on her behalf and resurrect the boy.
The woman found the prophet and God indeed raised her son back to life later that day when the prophet prayed over him. Sometimes a situation can look so dire that there is simply no hope left, no chance for victory. In those intense situations if we choose to have faith and persevere, God can do the impossible for our lives.
Four Lepers Save Samaria
So four lepers were sitting outside the gates of the city. They said to one another, "Why are we just sitting here waiting to die? If we go into the city, we'll starve, and if we stay here we'll die!"
2 Kings 7:3-4
The capitol city of Israel, Samaria, was under siege by the Syrian army. This was a common form of warfare in the Bible days. An opposing army would set up camp outside of a walled city and cut off supplies to the town until they surrendered. Sieges were a slow drawn out process that took months and sometimes years before the people would be forced to surrender or die of starvation.
During the siege of Samaria there was a prophet living in the city. He prophesied a message from God to give hope to the people to persevere just one more day and God would deliver them from their starvation. A government official threatened to throw the prophet into prison because he couldn't believe that salvation would be possible when all had seemed lost.
Just outside the city there were four lepers who decided to go into the enemy camp and perhaps they wouldn't be killed by the Syrians. It was better than sitting in the dirt just waiting to die! Through these four lepers God performed the miracle needed for Samaria's salvation. As they walked towards the Syrian camp God made their foot steps sound like an army of soldiers and chariots charging at the camp. The Syrians panicked and fled for their lives leaving all of there possessions and supplies in the camp. When the lepers found the camp deserted and full of food they returned to the city and relayed the miraculous news!
The government official who had threatened God's prophet was trampled to death as the cities inhabitants rushed to receive their just reward for persevering to the end.
Persevering through hard times is difficult but worth it. There is an old saying that 'it is always darkest before the dawn'. This means that things always seem to be their worst just before there is a shift for the better. If we remember that the hard times we experience in this life are temporary, and that we have a loving God who desires to go through the darkness with us, we can hold onto hope and persevere through any hardship. I hope you see the light at the end of the tunnel soon! Cheers friends.