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Spiritually speaking, people find it hard to weather the storm because they resist the storm. In some cases, resistance is good. You should resist the devil. You should resist temptation. You should resist the urge to do what is wrong when you know the opposite of what you are about to do is the right thing.
Resistance, however, is not always advantageous.
Matthew Kelly, author and motivational speaker, says it best: “This is the paradox that surrounds our quest for happiness: We know the things that will make us happy, but we don’t always do them” (Resisting Happiness 7). Studying is good but how often do we procrastinate? Exercising is good but how often do we put it off and watch TV instead? Eating right is good but how often do we choose the sweet snack instead?
This is resistance at its finest and it doesn’t go away. You have to battle resistance every single day. Every morning you wake up and have a choice: get up or hit the snooze button. Too often, we resist what we know is good for us which is to GET OUT of bed. Instead, we hit the snooze button.
In a like manner, we often complain, grunt, and groan when we are faced with a storm in our lives. But what if that storm is there not to hurt us but to help us grow? How would your circumstances change if you looked at it as an opportunity to encounter God and grow instead of seeing it as a burden?
Chris Stefanick puts it like this: “The storms in your life aren’t a sign of God’s absence. That’s precisely where He is. When you walk IN TO the storm/chaos/wind/rain/conflict…that’s precisely where you find Him and the greatest blessings He has stored up for you”.
God renews, restores, and transforms. Allow God to work in you through the storm in your life. Don’t run. Face it head on. The story of Peter walking on the water to Jesus comes to mind.
“And he said: Come. And Peter going down out of the boat walked upon the water to come to Jesus. But seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:29-31 DRB)
May we have the humility and courage to say to Jesus in the midst of the storm: “Lord, save me”.
Catholicism Rekindled 