Living in the Eye of the Storm

-Joe Fornear

So you’ve hit up everyone you know to pray for your physical healing from cancer. Perhaps deep in the night you’ve cried out to God for a better marriage. Maybe you’ve practically begged God for a different job. And a few might be interceding for all three of these at once! Yet often requests go unanswered.

So now what? When God allows troubles to linger, are we stuck in hopelessness, doomed to misery?

Fortunately, Jesus spoke to this in His final days on earth. He said tribulations are an inevitable fact of life in this world, but we CAN have peace in spite of these troubles!

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

He made it crystal clear in advance – He will not answer every prayer to remove our trials, though of course He could. Yet He promises to forever provide us with an inner serenity so that circumstances don’t dictate our moods and well-being. We can live in the eye of the storm – in Him. Though frankly there were times I was overwhelmed, there were also several times I experienced this peace during my intense battle with Stage IV melanoma.

If you’re like me, when seeking peace in this life you make a huge but common mistake. It is insisting, even demanding, that peace must come through the removal of obstacles. Yet Jesus is offering His overcoming peace in the very presence of life’s pain and difficulties.

So join me in asking Him to teach us how to latch on to Him and His peace in the midst of trouble. This is one prayer that He’s guaranteed to answer! Next time I’ll discuss another big mistake we make in the midst of unanswered prayer.