The other day it was bright and sunny, and I decided to go on a walk. My regular tennis shoes had gotten wet and weren’t dry yet, so I found my son’s old pair of tennis shoes to wear. As I was lacing up, I thought, “These shoes never make your feet feel good after you wear them.” But I still carried on because the other option was flip flops and that didn’t seem smart either. 

As I was walking, I kept feeling the top of my foot ache deeper and deeper, resembling a stress fracture I’d had in the past. I think I’m going to have to turn back. I was getting really annoyed because I knew it would mean turning around only halfway into my planned walk — on such a pretty day too! I prayed for God to heal my foot, but it kept hurting even more. I grew a little resentful. God, I know You can do this. It seems like a small thing, but I just want to walk. You know this is good for my brain and body! As if letting God know the details He already knows about me would do some good.

I came inside and immediately kicked off the shoes, grabbed a drink of water, and went to the bathroom. When I came out into the main area, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The sky had grown dark, and huge clouds loomed. It wasn’t the same sky as it had been two minutes ago. Then the most sideways rain began to fall aggressively in sheets, making the tree limbs sway so hard I thought they would fall. 

Glad I wasn’t out in that! I stopped in my tracks, taken aback by God’s mercy for me. I had just been complaining to Him about my foot hurting and practically accusing Him of not knowing what was best for me. He didn’t heal my foot because He was gently bringing me home to be safe and out of the storm. 

That might seem like a trivial example, but I can give you a long list of failed plans and dreams where I was really disappointed in the outcome and wondered what God was thinking.

Another time, God gave me a picture of being on a beach with a raging storm coming my way. I was alone and the sky was growing dark and veins of lightning stretched across the clouds. There were no shelters, no homes, only one giant rock jutting like a mammoth out of the sand. I heard, “Run into the cleft of that rock. The sea is going to rage, but you will be safe in there.” So I ran as fast as I could — just in time. This was right before my marriage fell apart, and I’d be devastated beyond what I believed I could endure. I was certainly crushed, but in the end, I was not destroyed. That was because I ran into the protection of that Rock. His nearness, His strength — they saved me. 

I often want to question what God is doing in my life when it feels uncomfortable, which is silly because I am not all-knowing, all-loving, all-wise. When I think I know better than God, it means I don’t actually trust Him. I want control because I believe I will do better! Just writing that feels really silly. It reminds me of Job who withstood so much suffering:

Listen to this, Job;
stop and consider God’s wonders.
Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?
Job 37:14-16 (NIV)

Perfect knowledge. He has the perfect knowledge to carry you through your storm, like He’s carried me through mine, time and time again. He will equip you perfectly, give you the perfect amount of faith, the perfect amount of supernatural wisdom and strength — not an accidental or haphazard amount. I say this to myself when I’m feeling afraid or anxious, “He’s done it before, and He’ll be faithful to do it again.”

Whenever I preach that beautiful truth to myself and remember all the times it’s been true, I find hope. So say it with me today if you’re in the middle of a storm, if you can’t understand God’s way, or if you can’t see beyond the falling apart that’s happening right before your eyes, “He’s done it before, and He’ll be faithful to do it again.”

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