When God Doesn't Calm the Storm

“This is not a testament to how I have been faithful in growing in my faith but rather how God, in His patience, His mercy, and His righteousness has called me to surrender and develop a deeper, nearer, and more desperate need of Him, worship to Him, and aim to do all he has commanded me to do, because of what He has done for me.”   

Kristen was raised with a firm foundation of Christian values. She had faithful parents that helped her understand what it means to follow Christ. She was involved in the youth group, mission trips, and attended church regularly. She was baptized as an infant in the Anglican church, and she accepted Jesus as her savior sometime around the age of 10. She wouldn’t say she lived a perfect life, but her life was safe. 

In the last three years of her life, Kristen experienced God in a way she never had growing up. She experienced suffering that would mold her perspective of God as living water to her dry and desperate soul. Her definition of Christianity shifted from something she did to someone she was. 

“These trials rocked me to my core.”

“My oldest son was born with suspicion of a tethered spinal cord, my husband and I walked through miscarriage, and again, neurological concerns arose after the birth of our second son. These trials rocked me to my core, broke the illusion of control that I thought I had, and drew my eyes to be fixed upon The Lord. I believe this was His way to stop me from being lord of my life and turn to Him, in complete brokenness and surrender.” 

Kristen’s faith was challenged. She wrestled with trusting a God who is good, wise, and perfect when her circumstances were so rocky and difficult to bear. Why would he not shine the light on her situation and calm the storm? 

As she began to choose every day to trust what she knew was true about God, the peace came, but not in the form of calming the storm. Jesus came to sit with her in the storm. He brought peace through his very presence as he ministered to Kristen when she was desperate for him. She actively surrendered control of her life. She gave her plans, hopes, and desires to God’s perfect and sovereign purposes. 

“I am humbly reminded of whom I really belong to.”

“My relationship with God today is changed because of these refining moments. He still brings me to my knees in awe of His love with a deeper understanding that he is Sovereign and His purposes prevail – for His glory and our good. I am humbly reminded of whom I really belong to and am quickly brought back to the will of our Father.” 

Many of us have similar stories. We all have walked through suffering in one form or another. Debilitating injury or sickness, miscarriage, loss of a spouse, broken relationships, the list goes on – life on this earth is full of struggle and hardship, and it can be so painful. But that isn’t the end of the story. God’s purposes win in the end. He created people to share in his glory. He created us to bring him glory and enjoy him forever. The refinement process hurts, but there is hope that one day all the pain and all the sadness will end. Death has been defeated and will be no more. We can experience that peace if we follow Jesus now even through hardship – through the storm. Every day is a choice to believe God is in control and believe that he is good. Once we believe that, we can walk in a relationship with he who first loved us and chose us for glory. 

Kristen was baptized as a follower of Jesus in March of 2023 at Church at the Cross. She showed the world that she has chosen to believe that God is in control of her life, her circumstances, and their outcomes, and that brings her peace.