The Value of a Storm

Joshua 2:24

“They said to Joshua, ‘The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.’”

Sometimes, your miracle won’t take place until you take your step of faith. There comes a moment when standing on the edge is no longer enough. You can hear the promises of God. You can see the possibility of what He is doing. You can even know, deep down, that He has gone before you. But eventually, you have to step into the water.

For Israel, that moment came at the Jordan River.

They had wandered. They had waited. They had faced fear and uncertainty. And now, standing between them and the Promised Land was a river. God could have simply removed the river. Instead, He asked them to step into it.

And more often than not, God works the same way in our lives. He doesn't always calm the storm before He asks us to move. Sometimes, the step of faith comes first, and the miracle follows.

Where Is Your Memorial Stone?

After Israel stepped into the river, the flow stopped. They were able to cross on dry ground, but they had to step into the river first, before the miracle met them. They were instructed to build a memorial in the middle of the river and on the other side when they made it into the Promised Land. After they crossed the Jordan, God instructed Joshua to have twelve stones taken from the middle of the river and placed on the other side as a memorial to what God had done. A reminder. 

Joshua 4:6–7

“When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them…”

Those memorial stones weren't for God. God didn't need a pile of rocks to remind Him of what He had done.

The stones were for the people.

They were a physical reminder of God's faithfulness. God knew that there would be future battles, future hardships, future moments when the people would wonder whether He was still with them. He wanted them to have something they could look at and say, “God did it before. He will do it again.”

Where is your memorial stone? Where is the place you go to remember the times God was faithful to you? Where is the anchor you return to when the storm is raging all around you?

Hebrews 6:16–20 tells us that God's promises are unchanging and that we can be greatly encouraged because it is impossible for God to lie. Then it gives us this beautiful picture:

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

Our hope in Christ is an anchor. But sometimes, in the middle of a storm, we forget where the anchor is.

Spiritual Amnesia

I think of this as spiritual amnesia—forgetting our sacred identity, forgetting God's truth, and forgetting the moments when He has already shown Himself faithful.

Fear, stress, or pain can cause this. Sometimes, we become so focused on what is happening right now that we forget everything God has already done. That's why remembering matters.

Psalm 77:11 says:

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.”

When the present feels so overwhelming, we have to look back–not to dwell on our past mistakes or sins, but to remember God’s undying faithfulness. Looking back on the times in our life where He came through with answered prayers, open doors, those times you thought you weren’t going to make it, and miraculously–you did. If you really take some time to think about it, there are times when all of us should have died or been taken out by the enemy, and God preserved us. These are the times we can look back on as memorial stones in our lives and know that God is still good!

Because it’s not if another storm will come, it’s when. And those storms are the times you will need to look back...

Storms Produce Fruit

James 1:2–4 tells us to consider it joy when we face trials of many kinds because the testing of our faith produces perseverance, and perseverance produces maturity.

We don't have to enjoy the storm to recognize its purpose. We don’t have to like the circumstances we may find ourselves in to see that faith is being cultivated. 

God wants to produce fruit in us through the storms.

We often pray for God to remove the difficult circumstances, but sometimes God is more interested in what the circumstance is producing inside of us. And storms do reveal what we are really made of.

Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit. What we put into our lives eventually makes its way out of our lives. We reap what we sow. We can't continually sow things that are contrary to God's Word and expect to reap something Christ-like.

We want to do things our own way and still ask God to bless them. But God isn't asking us to give Him our plans and then stamp His approval on them. He is asking us to surrender. Sometimes the storm reveals the weeds that have been growing unnoticed. And if the weeds aren't removed, they will compete with the fruit, choke it out, and eventually kill it.

Fire Makes the Soil Productive

There are seasons when it feels like God is burning things out of our lives. Old habits, wrong motives, unhealthy relationships, pride, fear, and control to name a few. 

Perhaps they are things we have held onto for far too long. When the fire of God comes, it can feel like He is burning everything good along with the bad. In the natural, fire prepares the ground for new growth. In the same way, the fire of God burns out anything that is no longer serving us spiritually, so He can make way for the things He wants to plant in us and see a harvest in! Sometimes God has to clear the ground before new growth can happen.

Matthew 3:12 gives us the picture of Jesus separating what is useful from what is not. There is a refining work that happens in our lives when we allow God to deal with the things that don't belong.

We often ask, “God, why are You letting this happen to me?”

But the better question would be: “God, what are You trying to grow in me through this?”

Storms Help Us See God

When a storm blows in, everything gets dark. Visibility changes. What was easy to see in the sunshine becomes difficult to see in the darkness. 

And we have a choice.

We can allow the darkness to consume us—or we can use the darkness as an opportunity to look for the Light. Jesus shines brightest when everything around us feels dark, but the darkness cannot overcome Him!

Psalm 34:18 reminds us:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Don't waste your weakness. God is near to you in it. Don't let the darkness convince you that God has abandoned you. Sometimes the moments when we feel the weakest are the very moments when we become most aware of how much we need Him.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9–10:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

And then Paul responds with a truth that can change the way we see our storms:

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

No matter what season you're walking through, God's grace is sufficient.

Put It in the River

There's something significant about where God told Israel to gather those memorial stones. They came from the middle of the Jordan. The river represented the boundary between where they had been and where they were going. They were leaving one season and entering another. They were leaving the wilderness and entering their Promised Land.

How often do we stand in the middle of our own Jordan, holding onto things God is asking us to release? We want to cross into something new, but we're still carrying pieces of our old, sinful lives. We're holding onto past mistakes, pain, failures, and disappointments. 

But here's the beautiful thing about the Jordan:

God can wash things clean.

There are things God is trying to wash away from your life, but you have to be willing to give them to Him. You can't stack your things in God's pile. You can't ask Him to remove something while secretly holding onto it. At some point, you have to let go. Give Him the broken pieces, shame, and regret. Give Him the things you were never meant to carry into the next season.

“We can take a million wrong turns in our life, but it only takes one turn to turn back home.” - David DeFillipo

It's never too late to turn around. It's never too late to come home.

The Jordan Is a Line

The Jordan river was a line between who Israel had been and who they were becoming.

And perhaps there is a Jordan in your life right now, a place where God is asking you to step forward. This is a place where you have to choose between staying comfortable in your wilderness or trusting Him to lead you into your Promised Land. 

We all have to ask ourselves if we are comfortable in our Jordan. Are you holding onto things that God is asking you to release? Are you allowing things from your past to determine your future? Or are you willing to take the next step? 

The storm may not be a punishment, but a preparation. It may not be an obstacle, but an opportunity for growth. It may be a place for you to build your memorial stones, a place to wash away what is no longer needed and step into the miracle that God has for you. Determine to praise Him on this side of the storm, before you see the miracle–the place where true faith is needed!