This morning, my husband and I went out early to walk on the beach. The waves were rough and as we headed west toward storm clouds we thought we might get rained on. The clouds darkened and swelled. Finally, long after we’d passed our turn-around point, we stopped and headed back for the rental house. When we did, we saw a beautiful sunrise in the east, the sun pushing away a thin layer of pale clouds.



Sometimes life seems dark and ominous and yet when we turn, when we gain a new perspective, we see the promise and hope coming over the horizon.

Not too many years ago, my husband called me one evening and I could hear something in his voice. Something was wrong. He’d been laid off. Of course, we immediately saw the dark storm clouds threatening our lives. Yet, that devastating change, painful as it was, also brought us new opportunities. Looking back, we can both see it was a blessing.

But it’s often hard to get a new perspective when we’re in the midst of a storm, when the wind is churning around us and thunder is rumbling, when we’re suffering and in pain. If we look for God’s perspective in the situation, it can help us to see the storm for what it is. Maybe it’s helping us grow. Maybe it’s bringing a change and a blessing. Maybe we can’t understand why but we can see that it’s brief.



How do we get God’s perspective? For me, I read the bible and through reading God’s word I gain better understanding of myself and the situations I’m going through.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

What storm have you weathered that when you gained God’s perspective or looked at the sky from a different perspective you garnered a new appreciation for what you were going through?

Labels: help, New heart, new perspective, perspective, storms, storms of life, surviving storms of life, trials

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Matt 7:24-26

There have been times in my life when my footing was not on solid rock, and I was easily tossed to and fro by whatever prevailing philosophy came along. This week while I’ve been walking (or trying to walk) along the beach, I’ve been thinking of this verse. The sand is so deceptive. At times it looks as if it’s solid and packed hard but it can fool me and suddenly the ground shifts beneath me. Thankfully, I’ve got good balance. But it’s one reason my 81 year old mother isn’t walking on the beach. I want to keep her safe. Because out there on the sandy shore, there may not be anything for her to cling to when the sand shifts beneath her or a wave rushes shore.




There are times in our lives when storms hit, when winds blow, driving rain pounds us, and lightning strikes. If we are out on the beach we’re in the danger zone. But if we have a rock, a solid faith to cling to, then we can make it through. I have experienced times in my life when all I had was my faith. When the winds finally died down and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, I realized not only did I have a solid rock beneath me but also God sheltered me from the storm.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. Psalm 61:3




Are you in a storm now? Are you clinging to faith or struggling to find solid footing? Or maybe you’ve recently been through a storm. How did you withstand the winds and rains?

Labels: faith, shelter, shifting sand, sinking sand, storms of life, surviving storms of life, surviving trials