A father loses his job. Again. An airplane falls, killing a loved one. A young mother loses her baby. A fire assails a home where a couple and their three young children sleep. The children escape, but their mother dies.

Hurricane Dorian devastates the beautiful Bahamas, leaving a pathway of death, loss and unimaginable pain behind.

“I don’t understand the purpose in this. Do you?”

A dear friend asked me this very question recently.  This sweet and godly woman has gone through unimaginable pain and suffering for the past several years. Her honest question echoes in the hearts of all of us when life doesn’t make sense. When it feels like God has forgotten us. When we can’t find the purpose behind the pain.

Whether we voice it or not, the question remains: “What’s your purpose in this, Father?”

“No, I don’t understand it. I don’t. But I have to trust that God has a purpose. We just can’t see it yet,” I said.

Her question caught me off guard, but I answered her with strong conviction. I have walked with Jesus for long enough to know that He does have a purpose for every suffering He allows in His children’s lives. Indeed, I have experienced His purposeful design through pain and loss, and I can testify that He does make all things work together for our good and for His glory. I’ve proven this truth. I believe it.

But that does not ease the pain when we’re going through the valley. When life doesn’t make sense and seems to be getting worse instead of better.

Believing God works everything together for our good does not ease the pain when we're going through the valley.
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As I continued talking to my friend, Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 came to mind:

“Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

Among all New Testament characters, the dear apostle knew pain like no other follower of Jesus at that time. He was blind, beaten, scorned, persecuted, shipwrecked, imprisoned and tempted. Even so, he responded with steadfast faith throughout each trial: “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Therefore, it seems only fair that God would remove this one issue that plagued Paul. He seemed to have had enough when he pleaded with the Father to remove the thorn in his flesh, whatever that was. And yet, even though we never see this giant of faith ask for relief before, God told him he should just accept it.

That would have been a tough pill to swallow, had God not explained why the “thorn” had to remain: so that God’s power (and purpose) would be perfected in Paul’s weakness.

It’s hard to look past our pain…

Indeed, it’s humanly impossible to understand how a disease or a death in the family can work together for our good. Only when we look back in our lives can we understand the higher purpose beyond each valley we crossed:

… Like the people who are impacted by the way we respond; silent witnesses that draw strength from our testimony.

… Like the unnecessary things that we end up leaving behind in the valley: Materials possessions that we used to value become unimportant; little things that we used to sweat over gain new perspective. Shackles of pride crumble.

… Like the Fruit of the Spirit, which grows in us IF we allow God to shape us in each valley, thus finding ourselves growing in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22).

… Like the pockets of rest that we find in the most unusual, unexpected places… things we used to take for granted: The smile of a loved one. The encouraging words of a friend. The pleasure of laughter. The importance of a loving touch.

… Like God’s divine provision for our material needs, or for just enough strength to keep on keeping on.

All these things are a reflection of His love and supernatural power, being perfected in us as we walk through our desolate places.

But there’s one more thing – one of the most important gifts in the valley:

Fireproofing our faith.

You see, it’s easy to trust God at His Word when we don’t have to prove it. When life is all roses and no thorns.

Yes, singing His praises is a piece of cake when life is easy.  Reciting His Word is natural when the sun is shining outside.

But when the storms assail us… when our loved ones leave us, when our health fails us or our financial stability disappears… When there is no hope… and yet, we find hope against all odds and we can still find the strength to thank Him and praise Him…

Then and only then, can we say that our faith is true – tested and proven.

It’s when our everything runs out that we can prove Him enough.

It’s when our everything runs out that we can prove Him enough. #RechargeWednesday
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It’s through the trials and valleys that His power is perfected in our weakness… that His love is reinstated and our faith, refurbished.

You may not see it today, my friend. But you can trust that there’s a reason for your valley. One day you’ll look back and you’ll see the faces of the people you’ve impacted… … And the birth of a new purpose because you chose blind trust and kept walking, one step at a time, and against all odds.

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LINKUP is open! #HurricaneDorian made me think about the storms of life... and the despair and confusion that we find when we are blind to the purpose of the storms. Join us?
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These words in the book of the Prophet Isaiah have been especially significant to me for many years. I came across them for the first time shortly after becoming a Christian 25 years ago, and they caught my attention, because of the eagle metaphor.

Eagles have been my favorite animal from an early age. Childhood friends would list puppies and horses as their ideal representative of the animal kingdom, but my heart placed the king of all birds on top of the list.

It all started when my mom brought home an article about eagles when I was about 9 years old. She had seen it in a magazine and painstakingly copied it word by word on a sheet of notebook paper. I sat down beside her, curious about the content as she carefully unfolded the sheet. She then proceeded to dramatically read a beautiful story about an eagle in the face of adversity. I cannot recall the details but remember that the message captured my heart. When she finished, she folded the paper and handed it to me. Looking me in the eye, she held my hand and said:

“You are my eagle. Remember that. The sky is your limit. You can do anything and go anywhere, as long as you persevere and work hard.”

Ever since that day, I have collected eagle statues, eagle pictures, and eagle stories. I have watched the Eagle Cam at Berry College and named my ministry “Soaring with Him” – inspired by the timeless words in the 40th chapter of the book of Isaiah. It’s a borderline obsession.

For centuries, these majestic birds have fascinated and inspired humanity with their brilliant survival and leadership characteristics. The bald eagle is the symbol of our country, its image engraved in the national seal, certain flags and monuments. In some religions, high-soaring eagles are believed to touch the face of God. Mexican legend holds that the Aztecs so revered the bird that they built Tenochtitlan, their capital, at the spot where an eagle perched on a cactus.

While sharing a friend’s prayer request with my husband this morning, I remembered an aspect in the eagles’ makeup that sets them apart from other birds: the way they face storms.

If you were to see an area filled with birds when a storm approaches, you would see two distinct reactions between an eagle and all other feathered creatures. While other birds would try to flee or hide, eagles would take off, in the direction of the dark clouds. Fearlessly, the eagle would fly into the fierce winds, using the storm current to rise higher quickly. The pressure of the storm is used to help them glide without using their energy as their wings’ unique design allows them to lock in a fixed position amid the violent storm winds.

The eagle instinctively knows it: Just past the storm, in the high heavens, there is peace and security. It is the perfect hiding place.

The eagle instinctively knows it: Just past the storm, in the high heavens, there is peace and security. It is the perfect hiding place.
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My friend is facing a storm which my husband and I know well. As she shared her struggles with me, I could hear the uncertainty, fear and confusion in her voice. “I thought I was doing God’s will.” “I don’t understand why the door will not open.” “Should we move? Should we change something?

”Oh, how well do I know the feeling!

Maybe you do too. You may have done everything, obeyed God and said yes to His direction, blindly trusting that He would come forth with the deliverance, provision or healing. Yet, months and sometimes years go by, and the storm does not seem to die down. You certainly do not seem to be rising above it either.

Can I encourage you today, dear reader? I soar “on wings like eagles,” joyfully and above some vicious, fierce storms.

Unemployment? Check. Cancer? Check. Betrayal? Check. Regardless, I can testify that God indeed used each storm to shake my faith so that fragments of unbelief would fall out. Then, as I courageously locked my wings, determined not to give up, He rose me up. Above each tempest… and in His time. Every.single.time.

Strength indeed comes to those who patiently and wholeheartedly trust in the Lord.

God uses storms to shake our faith so that fragments of unbelief may fall out. As we courageously lock our wings, determined not to give up, He raises us up. Above each tempest... and in His time.
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This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday – August 3, 2019.

The post Learn from the Eagle: the Challenger of the Storms {The Atlanta Journal Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

“Hand of God” Painting by artist Young Sung Kim

Passage: Matthew 14:22-34

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,”he said, “why did you doubt?” v.31

It was the miracles of miracles.  

The first mass miracle took place in Decapolis, where between ten to fifteen thousand people were fed with two fish and five loaves of bread.

I can only imagine the excitement, as the multitudes watched the fish and bread multiply before their eyes. Yahweh Jireh, their Provider, fed the hungry in an unprecedented display of His glorious provision to the masses.

The disciples’ hearts must have overflowed with joy… and Pride.

After all, they were His selected men. The ones who were chosen to walk alongside the Christ.

As we read the text, it’s interesting to realize that, instead of allowing them to remain with the crowd a little longer, Jesus immediately “made” His disciples get into the boat, cross the sea and go to the other side ahead of Him, while He dismissed the crowd (v. 22). I believe Jesus knew their hearts were swelling with pride for being part of Messiah’s inner circle. They needed to withdraw, get away from the accolades of men and the material substance of the miracle, regroup, and realize that He had come to give them much more than just daily bread.

He knew their faith needed more testing and they were about to get it.

Success and popularity have the power to excite us and make us start hoping for great things. The problem is that, though we hardly ever realize it, our hopes for spiritual victories too often include hopes for our own advancement. Therefore, after a season of miracles and supernatural blessings, God often pulls us out of the hype and excitement, and sends us on to the next journey of testing, where we will realize that our faith must grow in the same proportion as our humility and dependence upon God and God alone.

It’s true – We see the bread before our eyes and our faith grows within us. After all, we can touch it, taste it, feel it. The provision and deliverance is real. We can boldly shout to the world: He provides! He heals! He reigns!

But then, just as He did to the disciples, He takes us out of the material and sends us into the sea of the Unknown. In the dark hour, storms rise and our boat tosses about.

Fear rises within us… And we forget.

The eyes which have seen the miracle are suddenly blinded by the darkness around.

The hands which touched Provision become restless.

The tongue which proclaimed the miracle can’t even pray.

We watch the winds and the waves raging at us, and we forget the grand miracle we just witnessed ashore.

In our distress, we see a ‘Ghost’ walking on the water, and we don’t even realize that it is He.

The One who just broke the bread and multiplied the fish… walks towards our situation and we don’t identify Him. The one who heard our heart’s cry… comes to our rescue in the night and we can’t recognize Him past the storm.

Oh, how my heart understands Peter as he realizes it is Jesus who has come to their rescue. How I understand his reason to say, “tell me to come to you on the water!”

He knows Jesus is his safety. He’s eager to believe. He thinks his faith to be strong. He trusts his heart not to wave.

So do we, Peter. So do we.

And yet, as our eyes veer from the Savior’s face and focus on the raging sea, our faith tested once again, we forget the bread and the fish. The storm reveals our weakness…

And we sink.

Oh, Lord, my God, how I truly understand, that it doesn’t matter how many times we’ve watched you act, our feeble hearts so often betray what we know:

That even when You seem to have left us alone, You’re always there…

That all we have to do is call Your name… “LORD! Save me”

And hear You say:

“Take courage! It is I.

Don’t be afraid.

You can walk on water.

You can face the storm.

Because it is My omnipotent hand that calls you out of a life of little faith, to one that watches Me deliver, again and again.

Don’t trust your heart, child.

Just trust My hand.

I’ll pull you out of the icy, stormy waters.

And make them solid ground.

Because wherever I stand… you cannot sink.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” Isaiah 43:2

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