When the Storms of Life Hit: How to Biblically Move Through Trials

Prepositions Matter

“Just let it go”, “Get over it”, “How do I get around this…Past this?!” These are common phrases I hear people say when referring to the storms of life they are facing, or things they have heard from friends, family, or church members regarding the wilderness they are facing.

These phrases have the potential to be detrimental to growth, healing, and the support of those who are in a season of tribulation. I would also argue that these phrases aren’t the model we see laid out for us in the Bible. The prepositions we use matter! What I see displayed throughout Scripture is the concept of moving through things. Not around, not over, but through.

Examples of moving through trials in the Bible

The Israelites were told to go through the parted Red Sea. Not around it or over it on a boat, but through it. They were later required to travel through the wilderness to get to the Promised Land. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to go through the fiery furnace to survive the flames. Sarah and Abraham waited through many, many years before their promised son arrived. Even Jesus Christ himself had to pass through death to be raised again to save us.

This is the example of facing the storms of life that the Bible shows us time and time again. We are to embrace them and move through them with the Lord- including all the emotions, thoughts, and responsibilities that come along with them.

What Happens When We Don’t Move Through Trials

Pushing it down Some people are experts at pushing things down that cause them distress, pain, or any other vulnerable emotions. They may pretend they have “gotten over it” and possibly use terms such as “it is what it is.”

There may be an acceptance of what has happened or the situation they are in, but a disconnect or detachment from how it affects them. There may even be a lack of awareness (purposefully or not) of that disconnect, so that they never actually work through the effects and impacts of the storm.

Avoidance Similar to pushing the pain of what we are walking through down, we can also attempt to “go around” or avoid the storm. This often comes out in distracting or numbing behaviors, such as coping with alcohol or food, or distracting ourselves by spending excessive time on social media or the ever-popular “doom scrolling.” It could even look like staying overly busy and being a slave to our endless to-do lists.

When we consistently avoid pain and distract ourselves, we never actually leave any space to allow the thoughts about what we are avoiding to come into our minds so that we can work through them before the Lord.

Get stuck Getting stuck in a storm could look like being overwhelmed or shut down. This is often paired with feelings of hopelessness, fear, lack of motivation, apathy, and feeling helpless to navigate the storm or even know how to go about it.

This can lead to depression, despair, anxiety, or complicated grief, often prolonging and even increasing the severity of our stormy season. Sometimes we can make a difficult season even worse by the way we respond, care for, and support ourselves in it.

The Often-Unexpected Blessings of Moving Through Trials

Although often unexpected, there are many blessings that are promised through our suffering. In fact, there are too many to go through here, so I will just focus on two of them: increased faith (further dependence upon God) and closeness with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Increased Faith (1 Peter 1:6-7, James 1:2-4)

Walking through trials can grow and refine our faith. Think of the Israelites standing at the edge of the Red Sea, feeling destitute and trapped. Think then about the wind blowing a path right through the middle of it – walls of water on each side. When we read about this, it can be easy to think about walking through the parted Red Sea as a “no-brainer”.

“If I saw this miracle, I would run right through those salty, cold walls of water!”

Think about this, though: the Red Sea is on average about 1,600 feet deep, with its deepest point being nearly 10,000 feet! Can you imagine how high those walls would be, how dark and sandy that pathway through the walls would feel, and how long it would have taken to get all the way across?

Many commentators suggest that the Israelites began their walk through the Red Sea at dusk and re-emerged on dry land around dawn. It took hours to walk through! This was not an easy ten-minute stroll. I don’t know about you, but I think this would have taken tremendous faith! The book of Hebrews highlights the Israelites walking through the Red Sea as one of the great examples of faith in Scripture.

“It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. (11:29a)

Imagine what some of their thought processes may have been:

“Is this the right way?”

“Are we going to be OK if we take this path through?”

“Does God really mean what he says – that this will save us?! That he will protect us?!”

Thankfully, unlike with humans, what God says is always true! He will always be faithful to His people!

Abraham’s story, as summarized by Paul, speaks of the faithfulness of God and the trustworthiness of God’s words:

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” – Romans 4:20-22, ESV

Through the trial of waiting year after year after year for his promised child, Abraham’s faith didn’t weaken; he didn’t become apathetic, but it only increased because he knew – he was fully convinced – that God was faithful! His faith depended on the faithfulness of God, which, of course, is sure, true, and never-ending.

Even when our faith wavers, His faithfulness doesn’t. Therefore, let us start to base our trust not on our abilities to be faithful, but on God’s faithful character. This changes how we navigate the storm we are in.

Closeness with our Savior (Psalm 18, 23, 34, 46, 145)

Another often unexpected blessing of moving through trials is developing a closeness with our Savior. The Psalms are a beautiful place to see an example and model of this. David constantly cried out to our Savior, Jesus, in the trials he faced. The result of this was that he became a “man after God’s own heart” and gained a clear realization that God was with him and near to him in the storms of his life. David expresses this clearly:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul, He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. – Psalm 23:1-4

David is declaring that even though he is walking through a dark time, the Lord is near to him and there is nothing he is lacking. God is not withholding from him. It is easy to lose perspective on our Savior when we blame him for our storms and the distance we can feel from him as a result of this blame, rather than embracing that he is near and in Him we have everything we need.

Once again, it may be tempting to read this and compare it with our own trials, thinking that what we are going through is likely harder than what David was going through when he wrote this. Although it is not fully known when Psalm 23 was written, some scholars believe this was written in a time of civil war and unrest, likely caused by the rebellion of his own son, Absalom.

I imagine this was a season of great distress, pressure, and heartache for him, both as a father and as the leader of a nation. Whenever it was written, we can see that David’s communion with his Savior is palpable. He declares that his Heavenly Father is close to him. In his wilderness, he knew that his Heavenly Father saw him, protected him, guided him, and gave him peace.

Walking Through Storms with a Counselor

One of the many purposes of therapy is having a professionally trained Christian counselor to help you navigate the storms and trials of life. It is extraordinarily beneficial to have someone with the proper training, objective perspective, and shared faith walk with you through the complexities of the storms and their impact on various aspects of our lives.

They can help support you in that journey, walk alongside you with every step of faith you take, and help you uncover the unexpected blessings that come with trials. It truly is an honor to be able to walk alongside my clients during trying times, and I, or one of my colleagues at Spokane Valley Christian Counseling, would love to walk alongside you as well!