Why Some Storms Won't Qut (Part 2)

-Some storms won’t quit because of the people to whom you are unavoidably connected.

For example, sometimes in a marriage, one spouse may be trying to serve God while the other is in rebellion. The obedient partner may be in God’s will and has no need to repent of anything. But because someone else’s will is involved, a command of faith can’t be used and therefore the storm is unavoidable.

The apostle Paul encountered a storm on his way to Rome in Acts 27:9-44. He knew it was the Lord’s will for him to make this trip, but the owner of the ship wouldn’t listen to Paul when he warned him not to leave Crete. It wasn’t God’s will for Paul to be shipwrecked but Paul, being a prisoner, couldn’t choose to stay behind. His storm continued because of his attachment to the ship.

Joshua 7:4, 5 KJV “So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water.”

In both of these cases the storms wouldn’t quit because of others that were involved.

-Some storms continue for us to remember who we are and who we belong to as well!
If it were smooth sailing through the storms of life we would easily forget who brought us through and who brought us out of every storm we ever encountered.

James 1:21-24 CEV “You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message that is planted in you to save you. Obey God's message! Don't fool yourselves by just listening to it. If you hear the message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave.”

You see, the Bible is like a mirror. You really don’t know who you are in Christ until you see it in the Word.  In it you’ll see that you are healed, delivered, prosperous, and set free. If you hear it on Sunday, but don’t do it on Monday, you’ll soon forget who you are in Christ. You won’t remember that you are healed and you’ll only deal with the storm of sickness in the natural realm, forgetting that God’s power is available to heal you.

Verse 25 CEV “But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and forget.”

The Lord is promising you here that if you do the Word, you will be blessed in whatever you do and even if the storm fails to subside, you will be overtaken by blessings.  Doing the Word of God will cause all of the blessings of God to literally chase you down and jump all over you even if the storm continues in your life.

While the scriptures I’ve shared with you can leave no doubt that doing the Word will empower you to overcome the storms of life even though they never seem to end. Yes, you can even experience the thrill of being chased down by God’s blessings in the midst of those storms.

However, there is an attitude I see all too often that will prevent you from fully realizing this marvelous truth-that is, you must guard against the human tendency to shift responsibility for your circumstances to others. We must accept full responsibility for the condition of our life.

As we’ve seen in the Word, if you are being shaken by the continuing storms of life and they seem to have no end, it’s may be that you have been putting blame on someone else for your own condition.

How can we thrive even in a continuing storm?
-We must humble ourselves enough to allow that truth into our hearts.
When you do, you can honestly say to God, "Show me where I’m missing it and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I purpose to make whatever changes are necessary."
-We must repent and be restored in God’s presence and power.                                     
-We must press on knowing that God will see us through!