She is a mom, wife, and passionate believer that Jesus changes everything.
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This post was originally created for Spiritually Hungry’s Unshakable Faith Fall Challenge, click here to join for free.
Preparation is everything, right?
When you know a major storm is coming, what do you do? Go to the store and stock up on supplies, right? Fill your home with non-perishable food, water, medicine, and don’t forget to fill up the gas tank on the way home!
Preparation could save your life and certainly makes everything much easier in the event the worst happens.
Storms and natural disasters can come out of nowhere. A bad rainstorm can lead to unexpected flooding, a tornado can touchdown with little notice during a thunderstorm, and an earthquake can happen with little warning. I myself evacuated from hurricanes the past two years, and it’s an incredibly stressful experience!
Life can really throw us some curve balls! It’s in times like these we really wish we were prepared, that we had squirreled away extra portions and water for an emergency. That’s when we wish we had a backup generator or even more D-batteries for big flashlights.
Unpreparedness can leave us in a really bad spot. This is where we get desperate and are searching for someone – or anything – to help us survive the storm.
That’s when fear arises, and anxiety is drummed up, all because we do not have a plan and we’re not sure how we are going to survive the storm.
Of course, I am not leading you to become a “storm prepper,” but rather a “prepper” for whatever life throws at you. Because, honey, storms whip up out of nowhere and that’s often when we find ourselves dumbfounded, confused, scared, and even mad.
The world we live in, either with Christ or apart from Him, is a world where disease, decay, and death are part of its DNA.
Bad things happen to all of us. Nobody can avoid suffering.
God never promises us that we won’t face pain. We can look to the disciples, the prophets, and even Jesus’s life to see this truth played out. No, what God promises is that He will be with us, uphold and strengthen us. But that doesn’t happen on its own, we must turn to God for Him to carry us forward, for Him to empower us.
You don’t prepare for the storm while it’s raining. Everyone knows that. If the storm is bad enough, then the stores will be closed with many having evacuated. Instead, you prepare for the storm while the sun is still out, while the weather is good.
And so it goes with our inner selves. At a drop of the hat, anything can happen – a car accident, an unexpected death or diagnosis, an affair, a firing, etc. But you know this and have experienced the topsy-turvy nature of this world.
We really like to think we are in control, but we’re not.
We have no say on when we will die and no power to save our loved ones. We really are helpless. We find this to be true when a storm comes into our lives.
So what do we do? Where do we go?
Well, we start preparing now when it’s sunny and the forecast is good. We build our foundation on solid ground with Jesus as our guide and source of strength. We turn to Him and allow Him to guide our thoughts and actions. We cling on to Him as though our life depends on it, because maybe it doesn’t feel like it today, but we desperately need Jesus more than we usually realize.
Being a follower of Christ is also an act of preparation.
We’re all are waiting for the day when true restoration happens and we will live in a new paradise where there is no more pain, sorrow, or death.
Jesus talks a lot of being prepared in Scripture, teaching us about what is valuable and important. Just check out His parables – so many of them speak directly to the topic of being ready for the unexpected in life.
Jesus constantly teaches us that it is through Him we find life, but apart from Him we are lost and hopeless.
And it’s true: life apart from Jesus is filled with fear, anxiety, worry, etc.
But, life “apart” from Jesus doesn’t mean you don’t believe in Him.
Simply professing Jesus is your guide doesn’t amount to a lot if you are not actually allowing Him to be the Lord of your life.
Allowing Jesus to be the Lord of your life takes effort, and requires a life of discipline because it is our natural instinct to depend on our own strength and devices, even while professing Jesus as King of our life.
When we are not holding on to God our lives are filled with stress, worry, fear, etc. instead of the Fruit of the Spirit.
So we must be attuned to how much we are connecting with God because our inner peace and strength depend on it. We need to be aware of how much we are keeping in contact with Him.
Our faith is relationship based, and to depend on God’s strength, well… we must be connected to Him on a day to day, moment by moment basis. This is how we become truly prepared for the storms of life and how we foster unshakable faith.
Look at what Jesus says about this very topic:
Matthew 7:24-26 (TPT)
24 “Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation.25 When the rains fell and the flood came, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation.
26 “But everyone who hears my teaching and does not apply it to his life can be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 When it rained and rained and the flood came, with wind and waves beating upon his house, it collapsed and was swept away.”
This teaching from Jesus is a cornerstone in my life and what has prepared me for the worst storm I have ever faced, carrying a baby to term with practically no chance of survival. I would often hear from people during Lucy’s pregnancy commenting on how they couldn’t understand how I was so strong and stable. My answer was always the same – I knew that whether she lived or died, God would bring good from it.
I wasn’t stable during Lucy’s pregnancy because I believed God would provide a miracle. No, actually the opposite – I was convinced she would die. And I had good reason to think that. Her odds of survival were literally one in a million.
But I was unshakable because I knew God, and I knew He was good regardless if death happened or not. If you haven’t read this unbelievable story, you can here: Lucy’s Story.
I had spent nearly 20 years preparing for the storm of my daughter’s fragile life. 20 years seeking God above anything else. Relentlessly pursuing Him and clinging on to Him for my source of strength and healing. I have seen a lot of dark nights and God has brought me through it all. It wasn’t easy.
Any time we are faced with storms and suffering, it’s not going to be easy. It’s only through God that the storm is bearable and truly survivable.
I share all of this with you because this is the fruit of walking with God every single day – you do become unshakable. When your eyes are on Him and nothing else, this is where your endurance and strength comes from. God will equip you in ways you never could imagine. And those chains that you feel imprisoned by? Well… those chains fall off.
It doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you do not give up pursuing your relationship with Him.
So, when the next storm of life hits you, where do you want to be? What do want to do?
Start preparing today, you will not regret it!
In order to help you, I have created a free battle plan workbook.
In this downloadable, you will get to make your own action plan that will help you stop and focus when life throws you a curve ball.
I encourage you to print it, fill it out, and place it somewhere you can easily access when you are feeling stressed, worried, scared, etc. This workbook will help you focus on God and not your ever-changing shifting circumstances.
It’s important to remember in life that we only have a limited vantage point.
We cannot see everything. Actually, we can see very little. But God, oh… He can see everything. Learn to trust Him, and see that He is good.
He can see past the storm and He will guide you through it. For what is unknown to you and I, is not unknown to God.
We cannot see everything nor understand everything, but God can and does.
It is by clinging on to Him that we find our way.
We don’t need to worry about our circumstances. Whatever situation we might find ourselves in is not even ours to try to control – it belongs to God and He is the only One who can truly handle the wind and waves.
So when the storm arrives, turn to Him.
Remember who it is that walks with you, that resides in you. It is the God who calms storms, walks on water, and defeats the grave. This God is in love with you and wants to enable you to smoothly sail through any storm – but you must turn to Him.
And to help, we created an awesome free resource to help you when the next curve ball is thrown your way.
In this free workbook, you will draft up a battle plan filled with your favorite Scripture, songs, quotes, and such to help you keep your eyes on God and not the storm. This resource will help you prepare beforehand so you don’t fall apart when life gets tough.
It’s good to be prepared.
Click Here For The Battle Plan Free Downloadable
Battle Plan WorkbookAdditional Resources:
If you find yourself in a hardship, I created an Epic Battlesong Worship Playlist. The songs on this playlist are the ones I listened to when I was journeying with Lucy. God used these songs in amazing ways in my life, and I hope that you find as much comfort and strength as I did. Check out the playlist here.
If you are looking at fostering unshakable faith in your life then we have a great free challenge for you: Unshakable Faith Challenge.
