Making it Through a Storm

All people, at some point in their lives, will come upon difficult and trying circumstances that are traditionally characterized as a storm. As much as we try, with great-valiant effort, to avoid certain things, no one can avoid the inevitable storm or storms that will occur in their life. Storms are just part of the human condition….We are all candidates for a storm, regardless of our gender, ethnicity, class, socioeconomic status, education, and even the level of our spirituality. As the rain descends indiscriminately upon us, everyone is a candidate, indiscriminately, for his or her moment in a storm

I chose the term storm because it is often used to describe those agonizing, challenging, and devastating moments that we encounter in life. To my pleasant surprise, everyone with whom I shared the title of this book could immediately identify with the meaning of the title without any explanation. Perhaps that is because the word storm brings to mind a degree of devastation. Furthermore, we know how destructive a storm in nature can be. Big stalwart trees are easily uprooted by a storm. Tall and wide buildings are easily toppled by a storm. Whole towns have been wiped out by a powerful storm in the form of torrential rains and subsequent flooding. 

Since we know that storms are one of life’s certainties, we should prepare to deal with them by equipping ourselves with the necessary knowledge and skills. This is an imperative statement because if you are not prepared to deal with a storm, then your life can easily be ripped apart by it. In a very short period of time, a storm can quietly and quickly remove things in your life that have taken you a lifetime to acquire.

Others may see differently, but I holdfast, we can learn how to deal with a storm of life by observing how storms of nature are handled. In dealing with a storm of nature, the objective is never to try to fight the storm. The objective is always to do certain things that will enable you to make it through the storm. For example, when a severe storm warning is given, people begin to prepare in ways that they believe will assist and assure themselves of making it through the storm. There are those who even place some form of protection or barricade over the windows and doors of their home. Some people go out and buy extra water, food, batteries, kerosene lamps or whatever supplies they think will be needed to help them to make it through that storm. Others people place themselves within a certain designated location in their house during the storm….During the storm, the concern is simple and singular, to focus on and do those things that are necessary to make it through the storm.  

While keeping all of that in mind, I began my search for discovering what was necessary to make it through the storms of life….I firmly believe that the answers to all of life’s problems and concerns can be found in the Word of God. Therefore, I looked to the Word of God for an example of someone making it through a storm. Through that endeavor, I was led to the Book of Acts, chapter 27.

Basically, the entire 27^th chapter of Acts is an account of a group of people on a ship at sea trying to make it through a storm….The storm was not a small or insignificant storm. It was a very vicious and lengthy storm. Nevertheless, every person on that ship, all 276 of them, made it safely through the storm.

            With the aid of the Holy Spirit, I examined closely what the people did in the 27^th Chapter of Acts, while in the storm, that enabled them to make it through their storm. The insight I gained from that examination led me to construct a series of sermons entitled, Making It through a Storm. What I have prepared, through a series of sermons, are lessons on the fundamental principles that one needs to embrace in order to make it through a storm. Each of the principles listed below is the focus of one of the sermons in this series. A significant factor in making it through a storm is adequate preparation. Just knowing certain things to do or embrace during the storm helps one make it through a storm.