Using the analogy of a storm, Storms of Life encourages women to strengthen their faith as they experience difficulties and crises.
Storms of Life is an eight-week Following God Bible study that leads women through dark days using the analogy of a storm: preparing as the clouds gather, walking through the intense storm, and picking up the pieces after the crisis has passed. They will discover indisputable truths that remain unchanged by their difficult situations, allowing them to resolve anger and bitterness. They will be encouraged to find strength in Scripture, challenged to seek God’s purpose and perspective in a time of suffering, and inspired to draw close to Him for strength and healing.
Excerpt
God has a plan, a purpose, and a perspective for every trial that enters our lives. He doesn’t make things up as He goes along. He doesn’t hurriedly switch from plan A to plan B as if something caught Him by surprise. Remember Jonah? The whale wasn’t plan B. God’s awesome plan was to save Jonah from sure death by scooping him into the belly of a whale. Sorry, but I would’ve vetoed that idea.
First thing, can you imagine the smell? Ladies, there aren’t enough scented candles in the world to cover up that smell. And the weird sounds—does a whale’s stomach growl? On top of that, it had to be pitch-black dark in there; not much light can come in those little blowholes—even less at night.
To make matters worse, whales love to leap high up in the air and go crashing back down into the sea. Can you imagine being banged around in there for three days as the whale made its way to the beach? A smelly, dark roller coaster that makes you seasick doesn’t sound like deliverance to me. How about you? Well, it sounded like deliverance to Jonah. Listen to his words, spoken from inside the whale: “But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God” (Jonah 2:6b).
Jonah 2 recorded the first words he prayed, but I have to believe there were some panicky ones spoken before these official church-type words. Maybe they went something like this: “Oy vey! Now I’ve been eaten by a whale! I could’ve drowned and been dead already. But, no, I have to sit here in the smelly dark.” But, through God’s strength, Jonah was able to see his situation from God’s perspective, and the complaints we might expect became a prayer of praise and thanksgiving (Jonah 2:1–9).
This exceptional book, Celebrating the Gift of Being Alive, has the perfect thoughts and words for birthdays, graduations, engagements, marriages, and any life celebration or family tradition.
