034 | Transcending STORMs
October 5, 2020
Minute of Transparency: COVID and Blizzards
Images from the Great Blizzard of 1978
Today’s Topic: Transcending STORMs
In this episode:
The Calm Before the Storm
A Storm Is Coming
Learning From Your Storms
// 1. THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
I don’t know where you were at prior to COVID. But my guess is that you probably fell into one of three categories:
Life was great. Things were up and to the right. Life was good, and you were only expecting things to get better
Life was more of a 50/50 thing. You had good days, you had bad days. But overall you were just plodding along - taking each day as they came
You were in a storm of your own. Life wasn’t good. Maybe you were in a dark place, waiting for it all to end
Until COVID hit, that was pretty much everyone right? Most people could clump themselves into one of those three categories.
Then COVID hit. We still have the three categories - but now we’re all experiencing those categories with a dark cloud hanging over our heads.
So this episode acknowledges the fact that COVID exists. It acknowledges that it is a current storm we’re all going through. But the real focus of the episode isn’t COVID. It’s the smaller storms - the more personal ones that we go through as individuals, families, communities. Those storms that have been around since the dawn of time, and will continue long after COVID has been eradicated.
But before we fully dive into these storms and the impact they have on us - I wanted to briefly talk about this concept we call: The calm before the storm.
It’s really interesting to me. It’s unique. It’s ironic. It’s juxtaposition. It’s yin and yang. It’s like push and pull.
Two concepts that seem so far apart: Calm and Storm.
Now I understand, if there is no storm in your life, you could just say things are calm. But I don’t think that’s what is at the heart of this saying. I think there’s more to it.
Think of it this way:
When a Tsunami is about to hit a coastline, there are a few moments of calm. Things get silent. The water along the coast actually recedes away from the coastline and there are no waves crashing. However, this calm is short-lived. When the Tsunami arrives it is a massive wall of water moving 30mph and potentially reaching over 30ft in height
Similarly, when a tornado-producing storm approaches, there is an area in front of the storm where the calm is palpable. The winds almost stop, and there is an eerie feeling of peace that is felt - even though you know what is coming because the tornado sirens are going off. This calm is soon overtaken by a greenish tint to the sky, swirling winds, blowing debris and potentially a tornado. People who have been through a tornado will tell you it sounded like a freight train being driven right through the center of their house
So what does this have to do with us? Well, if we take this illustration from the natural world and apply it to the storms we experience in our lives. It suggests, we may go through periods of exceptional calm, right before the storm hits.
Now I’m not going to be dogmatic about this and say it will always happen in that way. But looking back at the storms you’ve weathered in your life - were there storms proceeded by times that were really good? Times when things were going really well for you or your family, and then out of the blue the storm hit?
I think we’d all agree:
“Storms aren’t telegraphed. In fact, most of the really bad ones we won’t even see coming.”
They come upon us like a Tsunami, or a Tornado. Just when everything seemed calm, and we were in a good place, the storm hits with all its fury.
So what do we do with this concept? This idea that there is calm before a storm?
I would suggest a few things:
Love the calm. Enjoy every minute of it. Be in the moment, smell the roses, take all the pictures and bring people along for the ride
Understand where this calm came from. Don’t view it as something you achieved. Don’t view it as something that is owed you for all your hard work. Understand that every good thing comes from your Creator. Because of this, be thankful, and be quick to give God the recognition for the success you are enjoying
And finally, find balance when it comes to thinking about future storms:
Understand that storms will come. You’re not immune to them - everyone goes through them. Because of this, it’s good to have a plan - to be proactive - thinking through how you want to respond when a storm hits
At the same time, don’t dwell on it. Don’t be anxious and wake up every day in dread asking, “Could this be the day the storm hits?"
// 2. A STORM IS COMING
So let’s talk a bit more about this whole idea that storms are a way of life - that everyone experiences them - and that you don’t have a get out of jail free card.
We know why storms exist. For those of you that went through the Controversy Theory series with us earlier this year, this should sound familiar:
The Human Condition is made up of storms, and the root cause of these storms is the Sin Virus. When Satan was removed from Heaven, he brought the virus to Earth and convinced us it was the right thing to do. That if we chose his way, we would be like God - knowing good from evil. And unfortunately, we fell for it. Since then, the Sin Virus has impacted every living thing on the planet, and the planet itself. Every storm that happens, whether it is a natural thing like a tornado, tsunami or hurricane, or if it is a personal storm like addiction, loss of a job or a cancer diagnosis. All exist because of the Sin Virus
There is this thing called the Controversy - a very real battle going on right now. People often discount its importance, or refuse to believe it. But it’s real. This battle going on behind the scenes between God and Satan. A battle over the Earth and its inhabitants - over you and me. This battle is mostly behind the scenes, but there are definite ripple effects that impact us directly. Satan is doing everything in his power to destroy this planet and us along with it. So many of the storms we face are because of things he has orchestrated. Things that God allows to happen in order for us to truly understand the nature of the Sin Virus. And while God takes no pleasure in these things happening, He must allow the Sin Virus has to play itself out. Right now, one of God’s roles is to keep Satan from completely destroying us:
We find an interesting story in the Bible that speaks to this. In the Book of Job. God allowed Satan to tempt Job with storms that were unthinkable. He basically lost everything he had in life - his wealth, his property and even his children. He also experienced a severe, painful medical condition for days on end, and emotional trauma in dealing with his friends and wife. But God gave Satan guardrails - he wasn’t allowed to kill Job. And in the end, Job chose to still be loyal to God - even through the storms Satan brought against him
Not exactly comforting, but the Bible does explain that in this situation Satan was directly using Job to test God. Satan wanted to prove that if he just put some storms in Job’s life - he would stop being loyal to God. And though this may seem like an extreme case study, don’t we see the same things happen today?
A parent losing a young child to cancer?
Freak accidents killing two members of a family and leaving the others alive?
Being one of the 3,000 people who died on 9/11?
Having multiple people in your family pass away from COVID-19?
And this list goes on and on - tragic situations that we just can’t make sense of…
The big question is this: What if these storms are the same for us, as Job’s storms were for him? What if the storms we face in life are nothing more than Satan throwing his best shots in our direction hoping we will curse God and die? More on this later in the episode...
Another interesting thing about storms is this:
“Storms are the great equalizer. They are no respecter of persons. Nobody gets to opt out based on age, race, gender, spirituality, ethnicity, family heritage or socioeconomic standing.”
Don’t believe me? Here are just a few recent examples of storms that came to people we think have it all:
In recent California wildfires, Robin Thicke, Gerard Butler, Miley Cyrus and Shannen Doherty lost their homes
Sharon Stone has reported multiple family members dying of COVID-19
And just this month, Joe Montana and his wife had to fight off an intruder attempting to steal their grandchild from their home!
If these stories don’t confirm it - what will?
Fame, fortune, wealth - none of these things will keep you from experiencing storms of life.
So before we wrap this up and find the silver lining that comes with every storm, let’s just call out some of the more common storms people face in this country:
Homelessness
Hunger
Addiction
Job loss
Failed business deals
Divorce
Abuse (Domestic, sexual, verbal, emotional and physical abuse)
Human trafficking
Medical problems
Mental health issues (Depression, anxiety, PTSD, anger problems, etc.)
Diseases and pandemics
War
Assault & Battery
Being burglarized
Racism - both personal and systemic
Sexism - both personal and systemic
Impacted by natural disasters
Loneliness
And the list goes on. In fact this list doesn’t do justice to the storms people have gone through, or are going through in life right now
But it’s a list - and a long one. What if this was an all inclusive list - wouldn’t that be daunting enough?
The truth is - the Sin Virus is insidious. It is everywhere and impacts everything.
If Satan can find something good to corrupt, he will
If he can design something that will cause pain, he will
If he can influence people to do unthinkable things to other people, he will
And if he can influence us to do things that will destroy the Earth, and eventually create an unlivable environment, he will
Satan’s Game Plan is revenge - and he will stop at nothing to see the Earth (and us) pay for his loss - which was being removed from his position of power in Heaven.
// 3. LEARNING FROM YOUR STORMS
Again, this is a dark episode - as we’ve only talked about the pain, suffering and inevitability of storms.
But what if there was a silver lining?
What if there was more to a storm than met the eye? Sorry… just went Transformers there for a second…
But it’s true. Storms are inevitable - for the reasons we’ve covered.
But they can also be used for good. Or better said, good can come out of them.
Sounds impossible I know - but think about it. You hear it all the time. Something bad happens, and when the victims are interviewed you often hear statements like this:
“One good thing that came from this…"
“I just want this incident to mean something, and help others."
“That situation made me a better person."
“I can’t tell you how much I learned from having to go through that."
Sound familiar? So what is that? How does that work? How are people able to go through unthinkable things - and still find the silver lining?
Or in the Christian world: How are people able to weather storms and still remain loyal to God?
Well I think the answer is in the word itself. A storm is a process we go through. It has a beginning and an end. And there are stages in between.
And somewhere in there lies the answer to our question, "Is there really a silver lining?”
The following content is based on a message series I heard back at the start of the pandemic.
The church: Granger Community Church: https://grangerchurch.com/
The message series: Into the Storm (February 2020)
It was a four-part message series on handling the storms of life. If you’re interested in content like this I would recommend listening to all four.
But what I did is pull out a concept they presented - which is to use the word STORM as an acrostic - where each letter of the word stands for something.
I’ve added some of my own thoughts to it - but the idea was definitely theirs. So let’s walk through this together:
S = SIN
Like we discussed - the storms we face in life are due to the Sin Virus - though that can be pretty vague
It’s also true that a storm can happen because a sinful person, company or organization caused the storm to happen to you
And to get even closer to home - you could be the sinful person doing things to create storms in other peoples lives, and even your own
Our sin can actually be the cause of a storm that we have to walk through
T = TEST/TRIAL/TRUST
If we can look at a storm through the Job lens - we come to understand that there is a good chance the storm is a test in the larger controversy that is being played out on our planet
Our little storm could be a trial that gives us the opportunity to show the world who we really are
It’s a chance to stand up and show others who or what we really believe in
At the end of the day it’s a trust issue. Who do we trust to get us through the storm?
Do we give up? Do we rely solely on our own strength? Or do we ask for help - and rely on God to help us in the storm?
O = OPTIONS (OVERCOME or be OVERWHELMED)
Any time we’re in a storm we have options - whether we believe we do or not
We may not be able to control the thing happening to us
But we ALWAYS have the ability to choose our response to what’s happening to us
This is key! The two obvious options are to overcome the storm or become overwhelmed by it
Overcoming looks like: Trusting God through the storm, and choosing to trust through the trial
Overwhelmed looks like: Thinking you can handle it yourself, giving up, choosing anger, etc.
R = REVELATIONS
Storms reveal things we didn’t know about ourselves
As we navigate the difficulties we begin to see the following:
If we were really prepared for the storm
How reliant we are on our own strength
If we actually trusted God in the first place
If we were believing in faulty assumptions like:
Bad things shouldn’t happen to good people
Life should be fair
M = MATURITY
During a storm, if we’re honest with ourselves, and are willing to wrestle with the things we learned about ourselves - we grow and mature
And in this maturity - we not only become better people - but we’re also better equipped to tackle the next storm that comes along
The concept here is simple: Growth can only happen through adversity. Or maybe instead of using the word “only” it would be better said this way: Growth happens fastest during adversity
Let’s Land the Plane: This week, ask yourself the following questions:
Would you say your life is pretty “Calm” right now?
If so, are you prepared for future storms?
What have you done to be prepared?
What storms have you been through in your life?
And how have you handled them?
Looking back, do you wish you could have handled them differently?
And finally, what have you learned from the storms you have been through?
Namely, what was revealed about you?
And did you use that information to grow, or mature in some way?
My hope for you this week is totally based on what you’re going through:
If life is calm - enjoy it fully - and be thankful
If life is just plodding along - take each day at a time and be thankful for the good things you experience
And if you’re in a storm - I pray that you find peace in knowing that God is with you through the storm
As always, thanks for choosing to hang out with us this morning. Until next time, keep Transcending Human!