Guest Blogger: Brian Stortz

Have you ever experienced pain in your life?  Maybe it was grief that came with the loss of a loved one or some disheartening news from a boss about the future of your job.  Maybe it was a dreaded diagnosis from a family physician.  Either way, the storm clouds can come into our lives without warning and our hearts can ache.

For those of you who do not live in Florida or who have not kept up with the weather, we have been experiencing the storm bands of tropical storm Isaac all day.  They can be very sporadic with the sun shinning one minute and it pouring so hard the next that if a frog opens his mouth, he could drown.  While the weather can have a mind of its own and be unpredictable at times, I believe we can also relate its behavior to our own lives.

The clouds give way to tears and it appears that our world is falling apart.  We cry out to God and ask Him to save us. We feel better and the sun begins to come out in our lives, sometimes momentarily. Then suddenly we remember the loss or the news and another band of storms comes rolling through.  This cycle can continue making us feel as if there is no hope; as if we won’t make it in this life.  When we are in a storm, all is dark around us and it appears as if the rain engulfs us for miles and miles.  However what we can’t see, which can be seen on a radar image, is that just around the corner is the sun!  It is ready to peak its warm glowing head out of the clouds and illuminate our lives.

The Psalmist also faced such circumstances and wrote the words found in Psalms 30:5b “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”  What situation are you facing today?  Does it seem that the dark clouds have overtaken you and that rain is coming down all around you?  Do you feel that you are drowning and no one cares?  Just remember that despite the darkness of the clouds, God still hears our cry and rescues us.  Psalm 145:19 says “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”  Know that He will part the clouds and just around the corner the sun will be bursting through!