We want to be clean, yes? We want to see clearly, yes?
But are we willing to go through the process that will make us clean — the process that will shed light on the darkness? The process that will make us stronger? The process that will make us into the women of God we were meant to be? Are we willing to be broken and used for the glory of Jesus and His Kingdom?
I promise you, these storms are only trying to wash you clean. (Jessica Katoff)
There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. (Leonard Cohen)
Think about the hottest, driest days of the summer — when it hasn’t rained for weeks and the ground is dusty, dirty, the air is stale, everything needs cleansed. Then the storm finally comes: the sky turns black, the wind shakes the trees, the clouds hang low, the lightning crackles in the sky, and it seems like the thunder is going to break the earth. Yet when it’s over, the sun shines brighter than it did in all those weeks of drought. When it’s over, the air smells fresh and clean. When it’s over, the world is bright, the streets look like they’ve just been re-paved.
The storm washed away the dirt and the grime and the gross and what was looking a little dingy clean again.
The darkness of the storm may seem terrifying, but when the lightning strikes — oh, the beauty of that crack that lets the light stream into the darkened sky!
That’s how our lives are, my darling. We live our lives, we go about our daily, we get into a routine. Not that we necessarily live in a state of complacency, but we have our routines. And those routines can get a bit dusty, our purpose for being here can get a little hazy. The dreams we dreamed so vividly when we first encountered Salvation can start to get fuzzy; we lose our way, we question why we do what we do, and wonder if there’s something better out there for us.
And so the storm comes. The waves crash. The lightning strikes. Because it’s time for us be made clean once again, because it’s time for the light to brighten the darkness that has begun to settle inside.
The storms we face wash away the dustiness of our souls. The raindrops cleanse, the lightning brightens up the uncertainty; and when the storm is over, we come out clean, new, fresh, and ready for life again.
If Jesus’ disciples wouldn’t have been facing a terrifying storm on the Sea of Galilee, they would have never known that Jesus could walk on the water. And if they hadn’t been in yet another storm, they would have never known how to speak peace into the storm. They were His disciples, yes, but that wasn’t their stopping place. God had more in store for their lives than what they could imagine, but they had to endure a few storms in order to get to that final point of purpose.
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
{Mark 4:37-39, ESV}
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
{Matthew 14:26-27}
The storms of your life may be scary but if you allow yourself to learn in the midst of them, you’ll discover so much more than you could ever imagine.
If you are indeed willing to go through the process that will make you clean — the process that will shed light on the darkness you feel is surrounding you, you WILL have to go through the storm. The waves may crash around you, but the darkness of the storm will make the shining sun so much brighter than it ever was before. Only in the storm will you hear Jesus speak “peace, be still”; only in the storm will you hear Jesus whisper, “It is I, do not be afraid.”
My darling, embrace the storm:
Jesus is waiting for you there — waiting to make you clean, waiting to make you see, waiting to give you peace, waiting to reveal Himself to you. Waiting to make the fullness of your purpose on this earth as His daughter known to you!