Wait For The Rain To Stop

             Yesterday in Sunday school, we had a guest speaker substitute for our regular teacher. He spoke about the assurance of salvation. But, a small portion of his lesson really stuck out to me, and I was able to apply it to my own life. He was talking about trusting God through the thick and the thin. And, even though we ask God for things sometimes that we think are good, if they're not in His plans for us, He will not allow them in our lives, FOR OUR OWN GOOD. This past year I've been learning and experiencing first hand how to REALLY trust God. And you know, it wasn't easy, but looking back, I wouldn't of had it any other way. While I was battling the raging winds and cold rain of the storm, I thought everything was going wrong, and God didn't care about what was going on in my life. But, eventually, the rain stopped and slowly but surely the sun began to come out, ray by hopeful ray. And, it was only at the end of last year that I was able to see why God put me through what He did. First of all, circumstances ended up being even better than before, and, my trust and faith in God had been boosted by like 500%. And, even though it still hurt for a while, and the memories were still there, I have this experience to look back on that will always remind me, "Rachel, remember? Everything turned out ok. Just trust God and stay close to Him throughout the entire storm". God is the Master Planner. He can't do anything wrong. He NEVER makes mistakes. If we love Him and pray that He will help us trust Him more, He will allow faith-building circumstances in our lives. Problem is, we sometimes forget what we've asked Him for, when we're in the thick of the storm. And then, we end up blaming God for things that go "wrong" in our lives. When, if we maybe turned the picture around, we'd be able to see things right side up. God's way. This doesn't mean bad things will never happen to us. But, it's the way we look at them. A tragic event in your life can end up being a bigger testimony than you could ever have had when just being an "ordinary" person. Even if you impact the life of ONE person with your story, it's been worth it. Every Christian has a story, and they can either use it for God's glory, or try to forget it so that the pain doesn't come back. And, if you really want to stay in God's will, just pray, stay in His Word, and know that He's standing right beside you throughout every trial that may come your way. One great example of trusting God through a storm is Laura Story. If you don't know her full story, I'd encourage you to look it up. She has gone through a lot, and she's used her touching story to write music and reach thousands of people. One song in particular, "Blessings", really encouraged me throughout my tough year. It really shows how if you just wait out the storm and then look back, you'll find blessings hidden in places you never expected to find them.