Standing in the Storm

Not long ago a friend of mine lost his son. His one-year-old stopped breathing in the middle of the night, and his wife discovered their lifeless child after it was already too late. I still remember the moment I received that terrifying text message. I was frozen for a few minutes. My wife saw the terror in my eyes and reluctantly asked me what happened. I could barely mutter the words.

The news hit me hard because of my love for that family and their young boy. But it also seemed unbelievable because our sons were so close in age. I couldn’t imagine losing my little man.

How are you supposed to respond when something so terrible happens? How do you keep from losing your mind? What are you going to cling to? What’s to keep you from losing all hope?

Did it happen because God is mad at you? Does God not love you anymore? Maybe God lost control for a minute? These are questions that will need to be answered.

My friends have been an amazing example of how to respond in such a difficult situation. It’s not that they’re super-humans with perfect character; it’s that they know God and His perfect character. They’d been seeking Him, trying to obey Him, and studying His Word for years. They’d become intimately aware of His love and care for them. They’d read about His control over all things and His great wisdom.

If you were to ask them, they’d tell you the journey has been really tough. It’s been the hardest season of their entire lives, and at times they’ve been close to despair. But they remain standing and trusting God in the midst of it.

There’s no way you can be ready for such a terrible tragedy, but you can be prepared. They were prepared, because they knew their God. It certainly wasn’t easy for them.

But when the storm blew, they stood on solid ground.

What about you?

Excerpted with permission from Rise: Get Up And Live In God’s Great Story by Trip Lee, copyright Thomas Nelson.

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Your Turn

Storms rise up. Crises happen. Difficulties, trials, and suffering cannot be avoided. How do you keep from losing your mind in the midst of it? Are you leaning into God already, studying the Word, and learning to hear His voice right now, before the storm? Come join the conversation on our blog! We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily