WHEN STORMS STRIKE
Part 4
“The Benefits of Your Storm”

James 1:2-4 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect (mature) and complete, needing nothing.”

1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”

So far we’ve looked at the MESSAGE in your storm, GOD’S HELP in your storm, and DON’T FELLOWSHIP with your storm.

—Today I want to talk about the BENEFITS of your storm, what are the good things that emerge from the storms of life.

First, in the storm, God:

I. Purifies your faith

In 1 Pet. 1:7 he reveals the purpose trials and storms serve:

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.”

Notice—there’s a need, “IF NEED BE”—God sees something in our faith that needs adjusting, growing, strengthening, fine tuning.

BOTTOM LINE—Your trials are opportunities to stand on God’s word and to grow.

It says, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.”
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Notice how he compares your faith to gold tried in the fire.

—The same way gold is purified by fire, our faith is purified by trials and storms.

In real life, a goldsmith will place gold in a furnace so intensely hot that it melts it.

But it’s not “MELTING” the goldsmith wants, it’s “SMELTING” that he’s after.

SMELTING brings any impurities in the gold to the top.

Here’s how it works:

The gold ore is placed in an oven that rises to the extreme temperature of 1,948 degrees Fahrenheit.

As the ore melts, Impurities in the gold begin to bubble to the top.

The refiner is then able to skim the impurities off the top of the molten metal.

The more this process is repeated, the purer the gold becomes.

When all the impurities are gone, you have 24-karat gold—the most valuable grade!
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The Bible says that your faith is like gold to God.

And in the storms of life, what’s happening from God’s end is the heat of the trial is carefully bringing impurities in our faith to the top like:

Unbelief,
Fear of man
lack of discipline,
Lack of trust
little compromises
Defects in our understanding of God

Again, listen to Peter: “These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure;”
And in the storm the impurities are skimmed off the top by the MASTER REFINER!

One old hymn puts it like this,

“When thru fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
my grace all-sufficient shall be your supply.
The flame shall not hurt you—
I only design
your dross to consume,
your gold to refine.”

God’s desire is that when the storm is passed and the trial is over, your faith, “though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”

That it will be stronger, more pure, and unshakable!
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Then secondly, another benefit of your storm is:

II. A testimony

The way you get a testimony is through a test with some moaning!

No matter what a believer goes through, God will use it to bring a testimony to His saving and keeping power!

Listen to Paul’s personal testimony of a terrible storm he went through:

2Co 1:8-10 “I think you ought to know, dear brothers, about the hard time we went through in Asia. We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it. 9 We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves;

Now listen closely to his next words:

“…but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us, for he can even raise the dead. 10 And he did help us and saved us from a terrible death; yes, and we expect him to do it again and again.”

We thought we would die, BUT GOD delivered us!

We saw no way out, BUT GOD opened an exit door!

We were powerless, BUT GOD gave us strength!

We were crushed and overwhelmed, BUT GOD raised us back up!
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This is the essence of a TESTIMONY!

I was powerless,
I was in trouble,
I was sinking for the last time,
I saw no way out,
It looked like the devil would win—BUT GOD CAME THROUGH!

David had a testimony just like this!

Ps 40: “I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God.”

Now catch what he says next:

“Now many will hear of the glorious things he did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in him.”

At 11:59 He broke through and “brought me up also out of a horrible pit…”

And I came out of it with a testimony of his saving strength!

And many have been encouraged by what God did for me! ________________

Now, the last thing I want to mention is that God will use your storm to create in you:

III. Increased compassion for others

2 Cor. 1:3-4 “What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us.”

God never wastes a pain!

When He comforts you and carries you through your storm, it’s not just FOR you, but always with others in mind that your path will one day cross!
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You and I can’t give what we don’t have, Peter told the crippled man, “Silver and gold have I none…”

But we CAN GIVE what we do have—Peter told the same man, “But such as I have give I thee…”

No one can hurt with the hurting like someone who has hurt!

No one can sympathize with the suffering like one who has suffered!

No one can have compassion on the heartbroken like one whose heart has been broken!
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God uses storms to develop in us:

1.) Purified faith
2.) a powerful testimony
3.) Greater compassion for the hurting

LET’S PRAY