How to Find Joy in the Midst of the Storm

In Houston, we're in the midst of hurricane season which runs from June to November. When a storm grows large enough it’s named by the National Hurricane Center. In the last thirty years, that number has ranged from a low of 4 in 1983 to a high of 28 in 2005. We don't know how many storms will come each year but we know the storms will come. 

The same holds true with the storms of life. Some years there are few while in other s they come non-stop. But one thing is certain, no matter who we are, clouds eventually blow in.  It's easy to be happy when what's happening around us is pleasant. What shows who we are inside is what we're like when trouble comes. How do we find joy in the midst of the storm? 

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Just be still. Know with confidence that God is firmly in control. The sun doesn't fail to shine when clouds are heavy, we simply don’t see it in the moment.  The sun is always in the sky, so too, God is always on the throne. 

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”- Psalms 46:10

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Objectively view the situation. Hurricanes are temporary as is the storm we’re going through –no matter how tumultuous. Every day may not be good, but there’s good in every day. Seek it.  

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33

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Yield the outcome to God. Even when it’s difficult to understand His way we can still trust His heart.  As His children, we're assured that whatever we're going through will ultimately be for good.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.- James 1:2-3

Message for the Journey:

When people look at you do they see a person filled with joy or instead someone weighed down by the troubles of the day? When we allow the storms of life to steal our joy, we minimize the precious gift we've been given. Happiness may come from happenstance but joy comes from the Lord.

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord ! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

Habakkuk 3:17, 18

©Ann Wilds