Joy in the Storm
Joy in the Storm
"The greatest peace I have ever found was discovering that the Savior doesn't wait for me at the end of the journey... He walks beside me through every storm."
There was a time when I thought peace would come after the storm.
After the questions were answered.
After life settled down.
After the trials finally ended.
But the older I become, the more I realize that the Savior rarely removes every storm before giving us peace.
Instead...
He walks into the storm with us.
That simple truth changed my life.
The scriptures are filled with men and women who discovered this same pattern. Adam learned to trust after leaving the Garden. Enoch built Zion in a world filled with wickedness. Moses climbed the mountain while an entire nation struggled to believe. The disciples crossed stormy seas with the Savior sleeping nearby.
The storm was never evidence that God had abandoned them.
Often, it was the very place where they came to know Him.
I have also learned that joy is very different from happiness.
Happiness often depends upon our circumstances.
Joy depends upon our relationship with Jesus Christ.
The world offers borrowed peace through money, certainty, popularity, or comfort. Those things can disappear overnight.
Christ offers something different.
A quiet confidence.
A living hope.
A peace that remains even when life does not make sense.
That is why I love the words:
"Leave your prayer open all day."
Prayer was never meant to be only a morning routine or an evening checklist.
It can become a conversation that continues throughout the day.
Sometimes with words.
Sometimes in silence.
Sometimes through a gentle prompting to call someone, forgive someone, or simply notice the person standing alone.
The Holy Ghost often speaks softly because the Savior is not trying to force us.
He is inviting us.
That invitation has become one of the greatest discoveries of my life.
The storms have not disappeared.
The questions have not all been answered.
The world still feels uncertain.
But something inside has changed.
I no longer measure peace by the absence of storms.
I measure peace by the presence of Christ.
Perhaps that is what the Savior meant when He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."
Not the world's peace.
His peace.
A peace that walks beside us through every valley, every climb, every unanswered question.
The greatest miracle may not be that the storm ends.
The greatest miracle is discovering that we were never walking through it alone.
May we keep our prayers open.
May we listen for His quiet voice.
And may we discover, day by day...
There truly is joy in the storm.
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