I'll Praise You In This Storm

There is a popular Christian Music Group that calls themselves "Casting Crowns." My friend Greg Wilson introduced their music to me about eighteen months ago. They probably have a number of good songs, but the one that has spoken to me recently is entitled "I'll Praise You In This Storm." There are several good verses, but the chorus really spoke to me, and it goes like this:


I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
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.

There are lots of storms. We are about to come out of one, with the closing of the sale of our house in Grove. As I thought about the details of our closing, I had to stop and think...did I praise Him in that storm? Short answer...no. I may have said the right things, but praise him? Not so much...Susie is still looking for a job as a teacher in Oklahoma. Is she praising Him in that storm? You'll have to ask her.

A friend once told me that every one of us is either in the midst of a storm, or just about to go into one, or just recently out of one. What is your storm? Damaged friendships? If you are my friend, and you probably are if you are reading this, let me apologize now for the next time, or the last time, that I say something stupid. I value your friendship.

A troubled marriage? Let me tell you that I think I know what Jesus was speaking of when He said "In this world you will have trouble(s)." Marriage is hard, hard work. I used to think it would get easier after Susie and I had been married for a time. The trouble is, the longer we're married, the better she knows me. Trust me, that doesn't make it easier.

Are you in financial trouble? Let me tell you, based upon personal experience on both sides...people want to help you. Ask for help. Look for chances to help, too.

I recently went to a wedding reception for a young friend of our girls. She and her new husband were as happy as two people could be. Her husband even wrote a song in honor of their wedding. (My friends and I agreed that he was a much better person than we are, and that is just a fact.) They are happy...but you know what? A day will come, and may already have, when they will argue, even fight. Welcome to the storm, my young friends. Can you praise Him through it?

Living the Christian life is confusing, I think. The bible tells us that "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) God works for our good. I believe that all the time, but I only really understand it some of the time. Paul tells us in Philippians that "Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross."

If God worked for anybody's good, surely it was Jesus Christ, who "became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." If that's what my good looks like, I think I want a second opinion. Maybe death was Jesus' storm. Maybe it was life. Did Jesus praise God through his storm? I think he did, especially when he asked God to forgive his enemies.

What's your storm? I don't know. I know we took a real hit on our house, but the hit will end, probably next Monday...or Tuesday. That storm is over. What's your storm? I don't know, but a mother and father buried their daughter today. Can they praise Him? I don't know, but I hope so. What's your storm? If you're not in one...look out, it's coming. They frightening thought is there is another storm on the horizon for me. Will I praise Him through it? I don't know, but I'll try.

The chorus says "For You are who You are, no matter where I am." What a humbling, and comforting thought.

My friend Terry buried his Dad this week. His dad had been ill for a while. Terry is in a storm, and I know he would appreciate your prayers. When we spoke, I told him that I would pray for him, and he should pray for me. He told me "that's a deal." I'll make the same deal with you.

I'll pray for you, and you pray for me. That's a deal.

When God Speaks

The last time I wrote, I entitled the posting "When God is Silent." It was basically a summary of my thoughts about the lack of a job for Susie, and the lack of a contract on our house. We still await a job for Susie, but we have received (and accepted) an offer on our house. We are scheduled for closing on August 18, 2009. Please continue to bathe this in prayer. When it closes, we party!

This process has made me think about things that are uncomfortable for me (and you, if you are honest) to consider. Let me write, briefly, about a couple of them.

(1) Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future of hope."

Verse 10 says that "After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you and cause you to return to this place." SEVENTY YEARS? Are you kidding me? I have waited for God to bring a buyer for our home for two years. That's only twenty-four months, and I have been whining for about twenty-three of those. Waiting, but now I see an end to the test.

As I was driving to work this morning, I thought about how self-centered I am. Whining about a house that has not sold, while all the while we have lived in perfectly acceptable housing. Whining that, while the house had not sold, I have had a job, at least most of the time. And, even when unemployed, God continued to provide for our needs. Some through the State of Kansas sending me some of the money that many of you send there; more through the consistent support of friends. Friends like you, if you are reading this. Friends like many of you, even if you are not reading this.

There is apparently an end to this time of testing for us. It is August 18, 2009...our scheduled closing date. But as I was driving, I thought of you who face trials that may not end in this lifetime. Friends with children with special needs...friends who have lost children...friends with parents requiring your care and attention...friends with financial struggles beyond what I might imagine.

What do we say when God is quiet? I don't know. I do know this, however. God can take it when I complain. God can take it when I question Him. God can take it when I am angry with him. And God's love (and patience) with me never changes. And maybe, just maybe, God is not silent.Maybe God waits until I am ready to hear what He has to say to me. And maybe, it has nothing at all to do with selling a house. I don't really know. I know what James tells us, though:

James 1:3-4 "My brethern, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

I want the faith without the trials, but it doesn't work that way.

Pray for me, and I will pray for you, and count it all joy!