Thanking God for the Storm
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Praising God for the Storm
The year I got married, in 2006, the band Casting Crowns released a Contemporary Christian song titled “Praise You in this Storm”. It centers around a person praising God through difficult times. I, as most Christians, have heard it more times than I can even count since that year (and I haven’t listened to contemporary Christian music in over 5 years). I can still recall all the lyrics.
The chorus states
”And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm”
I’m sure, you, like me, have been through many storms where you’ve recalled these lyrics.
It wasn’t until about 6 months ago, however, that I changed my perspective about praising God during the storm.
“The third chapter of the Westminster Confession begins with these words: “God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and immutably (that is, without possibility of changing it) ordain whatsoever comes to pass;”
Who sent the storm?
“Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21
I know from Scripture that God is ultimately sovereign; He rules and reigns all things. He decrees all things.
If we believe that God is in control, that God sends us all the good things in life, then it can only be true and logical that He is in control of the bad things, too. Nothing else makes sense, and Scripture tells us this.
I didn’t come to an understanding of this concept until I became sick.
So is it enough to praise Him during the storm?
Many of my readers and Youtube subscribers know that I have a very rare genetic disease called CVS. It’s associated with migraines, and it causes immense, blinding pain, cycles of vomiting, and migraines in my abdomen. There’s no cure. It’s causing heart problems already for me (I’m only 37). The prognosis isn’t good long term. This is my storm. More than a storm, it’s a hurricane.
You can read more about my disease in an older blog post here.
So we’re back to that same question, who sent the storm?
If God is truly sovereign, and He is, then God sent this. He decreed it.
This morning, I woke up to excruciating pain in my head again. It was all I could do to hobble to my stash of medication and grab my auto-injector to try and stop the pain. It’s been 3 hours, and it’s pretty bad still. I’ve learned to work through it (it’s an acquired skill).
When I prayed this morning, I thanked God for my migraine.
I know what many of you are thinking, “wait, what? You…thanked God….for a migraine? This must be a joke”.
It’s not a joke, I’m deadly serious.
Rejoicing Always, in All Circumstances
”Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you". 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
This past summer, I read Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place. Oh, how I loved and cherished that book. If you haven’t read it, Corrie Ten Boom is a Protestant living in Holland during the Nazi invasion of Holland. She and her family are put in a Nazi concentration camp for hiding and protecting Jews in her home. Most of them didn’t make it out alive.
Corrie did, however, and told the harrowing tale of her God, and how merciful He was to her in her book.
That book changed my life.
At one point, Corrie and her sister Betsy are in a barracks infested with fleas. Corrie was really struggling with this situation (as I’m sure we all would), but her sister was joyful. Absolutely THRILLED! She scolds her older sister Corrie for being downtrodden over the fleas.
You can imagine this in your head; here you are, in a Nazi concentration camp. Starving, sick, freezing to death, slowly dying from multiple ailments, and your sister is scolding you because you’re upset over fleas biting you. It’s almost comical, if not maddening.
But Betsy was on to something. The God of the universe sent the fleas. Why, oh why, would He send fleas to these women who were already struggling with so much? To protect them. Betsy and Corrie smuggled a Bible into their barracks to read to the women they were housed with. They were holding daily Bible studies with the women. The fleas kept the guards away. This allowed the women to go undetected with their Bible study each day.
So Corrie praised God for the fleas…even if she did so reluctantly.
As Corrie and Betsy did so many decades ago, I praised God for my pain this morning. I may not have Nazi guards to keep away, but I know why He sends me the pain.
October 2022, second round of treatment.
I’ve had a pretty easy life, by most standards. Yes, I’ve had my fair share of trials, more so in the last 7 years than any other time in my life. Not coincidentally, the really difficult trials came when I got serious about my own sanctification.
But up until that point, life had been pretty easy. I lived while coasting. I never really had to call on God for much…at least not for anything really difficult.
That’s not the case now. I have to call on God daily…just to live. Just to get out of bed. Just to make it to the shower. Please God, let me get through just this one hour.
He didn’t give me this disease, this pain, because He’s a mean God. He didn’t give me it because I’m strong, or that He thought I could handle it. Oh, no. He gave it to me because He knew I couldn’t. Because for the first time, I’d have to learn to rely on Him, hour by hour, and minute by minute. For the first time in my life, I became acutely aware that without God, I couldn’t take my next breath.
So, this morning I thanked God for my migraine. I’d be relying on Him, once again, minute by minute throughout my day. My life became a life of prayer.
Though I’ll admit, it took me several years of this disease to get to this point. This wasn’t an overnight revelation. It took many days and nights of pain to get here.
One Day at a Time
All I can really say is, I live life one day at a time. Each day that I wake up, I’m so happy that I do. This disease has almost taken my life twice now. My husband, thankfully, was there and got me medical attention fast enough where the doctors saved me.
The Lord sent me the most perfect husband for me. My husband, Daniel, is so understanding. He has gone through every second of this with me, standing right beside me…and some days, completely holding me up.
I can say the same for my kids. They both understand when they have to do school with me on the couch. They pitch in around the house. They help out with everything. I know both of them will make incredibly loving, understanding husbands, just like their dad.
So no, my life isn’t perfect. In fact, most days, it’s really hard, but it’s also really awesome, too. Some days, I put on a brave face, try to act tough, but my husband sees right through it. He’s very kind to me. I don’t know if all husbands could handle this like him, but I assume not. I can’t really drive anymore, and I have doctor appointments several times a month. It never really seems to level off. But, he’s still right there beside me, through everything. The Lord equipped him for this, and equipped him for me.
How could I be anything but joyful? How could I be anything but thankful?
So my prayer for you is that next time there are storm clouds coming in your life, is that you don’t just praise God during the storm. I pray you thank Him FOR it. Thank Him for sending it. Thank our God for the mighty God He is, for His mercy, for His teaching, for His trials.
They are all for our good, and for His glory, friends.
”And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[a] for those who are called according to his purpose”. Romans 8:28
Soli Deo Gloria,
Mandy
