Weathering the Storms: Finding God in Life’s Hard Seasons
I think a lot of people equate a Christian life to some kind of easy existence where all you have to do is be kind to each other. I wish it was that easy.
When you decide to give your life to God it doesn’t simply just get easier. In fact the opposite is likely to happen. It can often feel like a test you think you can’t pass.
Just like a film before a hero or heroine achieves what they set out to do everything goes wrong. It’s referred to as the ‘All Is Lost’ moment. If we stopped watching at this point everything would be a disaster, but if stick in there a little longer it all works out.
For me a Christian life is this over and over again and sometimes all you can do is hang on in there. It’s a never ending trip through raging seas and calm tranquil waters.
Life doesn’t always feel like calm seas and blue skies. Sometimes it feels more like we’re stuck in the middle of a storm winds howling, visibility low, and nothing solid beneath our feet.
If that’s where you are right now, I want to say this first: you’re not alone. And you’re not failing as a Christian for finding it hard.
Storms come to all of us. And not just once or twice. The Bible is full of stories of people who found themselves in the middle of chaos, grief, disappointment, and fear. Some of them even found themselves in actual storms. But more often than now these ‘storms’ allow them to encounter God in a deeper and more profound way.
Think of Jesus’ own disciples, stuck in a boat as the waves threatened to overtake them. These were seasoned fishermen, people who knew the sea well and even they were terrified. But Jesus was there, in the boat with them. At first, He was asleep. But when they called out to Him, He woke, and He spoke peace over the storm.
Sometimes He still does that He still calms the storm around us. Other times, the storm doesn’t calm right away. But always something changes in us. Often we discover a quiet strength we didn’t know we had, we realise we are not alone and we feels God’s presence in our lives more not less.
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul writes,
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
He doesn’t say Christians won’t be pressed or struck down. He says we will be and yet we’re not overcome. There’s something unshakeable beneath it all, and that something is God.
Faith isn’t about pretending everything’s fine. It’s about trusting that, even when everything’s not fine, God hasn’t left us.
The truth is, storms shape us. They wear away what isn’t needed. They deepen our roots. They can open us up to grace in ways that sunny days sometimes can’t.
Maybe you’re in one of those seasons now. Maybe the grief feels endless. Maybe the stress is too much. Maybe the prayers feel unanswered, or the path ahead unclear.
You don’t have to hide any of that.
God isn’t afraid of your questions, your anger, your exhaustion. He invites you to bring it all to Him. To come honestly, just as you are. Not with polished words, but with whatever shaky prayer you can manage: “Lord, I’m struggling. Be near.”
And He will be. He always is.
You may not feel it straight away. You may not get the answers you want. But hold on. Trust that somehow, in ways we might only understand later, God is still working.
Isaiah 43:2 says:
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.”
Not if you pass through the waters, but when. Because storms are part of the journey. But so is God. And He is faithful.
This article was written by Sarah Newton and reflects her opinion on this matter. Other opinions within the church and the wider Church of England may differ.
