storms of life – Song Dive

The next entry for my Blog is Praise You in This Storm, which was written by Bernie Herms and John Mark Hall. It was first released in August 30, 2005. A link to the Casting Crowns singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Praise You in This Storm

I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say, “Amen” and it’s still raining

Well, as the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I’ll raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
And raised me up again
But my strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can’t find You?

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I’ll raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of Heaven and Earth

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?

And I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

And though my heart is torn (though my heart is torn)
I’ll praise You in this storm (praise You in this storm)

I don’t know about you, but I love to sit on my porch and watch a thunderstorm roll in. The thunder and the rain seem to bring a peace to my soul and also a new shade of green and color to all of the flowers and trees around me. Everything looks so clean and fresh once the storm passes. Unfortunately, most of us probably get caught up in the storms of life, which are not quite so pleasant. The lightning, the pouring rain, and rumbling thunder seem to come into our lives for a season and disrupt our joy and happiness. The time gradually comes when we are in the center of our storm and are not sure how much longer we can withstand the darkness that comes with the storm. This song provides a good description of what we all endure, but it also tells us that God hasn’t deserted us; he is in the midst of the storm with us and is there to give us strength, hope, and comfort as the world crashes down around us. Sometimes there are trials we have to face and challenges we have to overcome, but we must keep our faith in God. We anxiously await him to step in and stop the storm, but there are things we have to sometimes endure in life that help us to become the people God wants us to be. What is important is that we realize that God is always there and through it all, we must keep our eyes on God and thank for him for being with us during these troublesome storms. As we struggle to keep our focus on God, we suddenly hear that quiet voice that tells us we are not alone. He is there to remind us that no matter what we may have done to be in this storm; his mercy and his love will surround us. We should thank God as we feel his presence and feel his arms wrap around us.

The chorus reminds us to praise God through the stormy days and the sunny days of our life. God is the only being who can be with us wherever we go. He knows every tear we have shed because he holds those tears in his hand, to show his love for us. Although we may feel alone and deserted by everyone we know and our heart is breaking; God has never left us, nor will he. So, no matter the power and darkness of the storm, he is there and should be praised for never leaving our side.

Have you ever been outside in a powerful wind and tried to walk into that wind? You sort of struggle along just to get to your destination, but it takes away all of your energy. We wonder if we can even make it to our destination. As we fight through the headwinds in life, God is there to help pull us along and to pick us up when we stumble and cry out. We can’t see God, but he is there even if we can’t see him. As our strength gives way and the battle of life continues, he is there to carry us when we can no longer put one foot in front of another. One of the greatest men in the Christian bible, David, often faced overwhelming challenges in his life. He wrote this in Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” This should be a great encouragement for all of us. This is a promise that applies to all of those who believe in God and have accepted his son as their personal savior. Perhaps the even better news is that God never sleeps and is with us every hour of every day.

As we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” He alone deserves our faith, love, and trust.

Are you in the midst of a storm today and just struggling to find your way? If so, have you reached out to the only one who can help you find light in your life again?

Click to Hear Casting Crowns Sing Praise You in this Storm

The next entry for my Blog is You’ll Never Walk Alone which was written by Oscar Hammerstein II and composed by Richard Rodgers for the musical Carousel, which was initially released in 1945. A link to David Phelps performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog. This song has a special meaning to me. I had a Sunday School teacher at a church in Birmingham, AL who died in a plane crash and left a wife and three young children behind. I was in a youth choir at the time and we sang this song at the church after his passing. I selected the performance of the song by David Phelps, because I felt it needed the emotion he provides in his version.

You’ll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

We all face difficult times in our lives. I had been fortunate in that, up until a few years ago, I had not faced some of the challenges so many people face. My storms of life started in 2016 when I lost my dad and this was just the beginning. In 2017 I lost my sister, 2018 I lost my mom, and in 2019 I came within a few hours of death as a result of contracting an almost fatal illness after a missions trip to India. My wife had severe back problems in 2019 and my daughter had an eye stroke in each eye. Most of you have probably had experiences similar to the above or even worse. God never promised us a life filled with roses and rainbows, but he did promise us two very important things we should never forget. The first is the promise of eternal life upon acceptance of his son, and the second is that he will never leave us.

As we stumble through these storms of life, we see only the darkness and we doubt whether or not we can even take another step; wondering where that next step will take us. We try to push forward and we do so with our heads down and feel we have completely lost our way. I believe that people who take their own lives reach this point, because they believe they have no hope; they can’t fight the pain or loneliness any longer. For those of us who have accepted Christ and believe his promises, we should never reach this point; we must try to remember that we are never alone. We should hold our head up and know that God will take us through this latest challenge. Even though it seems as if we are encountering the darkest of days, God is there to bring his light that can pierce any darkness. I can’t help but remember the lines from the Footprints in the Sand poem, which is scripture based, when the Lord said “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

As we take God’s hand, he will lead us through the storm and we will see the bright and shining sun that lights our sky and hear the beautiful songs of the birds that he created. He does this to not only fulfill his promise, but to show us that every storm will pass and the sun will eventually overcome the darkness. As we face the howling winds and the pouring rain that bring us to a point of desperation, we must remember to not give up on our hopes and dreams of tomorrow as well as what eternity has in store for us. God is faithful and he will fulfill all of his promises. If we face the gloom ahead with hope, taking God’s hand, and hold our heads up; we will never walk alone. Romans 8:38-39 tells us we will never be alone, For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Next time you feel alone in the darkness, take God’s hand which is always reaching out to you.

Click to See David Phelps Perform You’ll Never Walk Alone