Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Weather: To withstand, or to wear away (12/04/25)
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TITLE: Weathering The Storms Of Life | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
12/07/25 -
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Many times these storms are often part of the human environment and experience here on Earth, that are common to saint and sinner alike.
Other times, there is the unseen spiritual activity behind these events.
In both scenarios, keep in mind that nothing takes place anywhere without God’s knowledge, and His ability to intervene.
Therefore, everything that takes place is the manifestation of God’s direct, permissive, or over-ruling will, and part of His plan for the individual believer(s) impacted.
For many believers, accepting some of the things that His permissive will allows to take place, will be his or her greatest hurdle to overcome along the road to spiritual maturity.
When the storms are sent or allowed by God, they are for the purpose of achieving a divine objective.
Sometimes the divine objective is to bring maximum glory to God, as it is in the midst of intense adversity that the believer is given the greatest opportunity to glorify God.
Sometimes the objective is to bring the believer home to Heaven, or to the next level of spiritual maturity here on Earth, if his or her appointed time of departure has not yet come.
Sometimes the objective is to impose divine discipline (2).
A 2Cor. 13: 5 self-examination will tell you when this is the case. If so, relief from the storm will come following a 1John 1: 9 confession, but there may still be the aftermath to address.
Sometimes the objective is to place an advancing disciple where God wants Him to be, in order to do what God wants him or her to do on any given day, or over a period of time.
When these storms hit us, the advancing disciple will learn NOT to ask God WHY, but will ask Him WHAT is the objective that God has in mind.
Q: How long will these storms last?
A: As long as it takes to achieve the divine objective.
Q: How are advancing disciples to weather the storm?
A: With the Eph. 6: 13-17 equipment and the John 15: 5 enabling power that God supplies.
When the storms are from, or being used, by the devil, it is for the purpose of attempting to drive a wedge between God and His would-be believer, or advancing disciple.
These storms can impact such things as our health, wealth, personal, domestic, labor, professional, and social relationships, and what is of a greater concern for an advancing disciple, his or her spiritual well-being.
The devil can do NOTHING to undo the saving (3), sealing (4), regenerating (5) Work of God that takes place at the moment of salvation when one is born again (6).
But, he can do much as much as God allows, to interfere with one identifying, executing, and staying with the post salvation plan that God has in mind for the individual believer.
It is the devil’s desire to take the advancing disciple captive (7) and remove him or her from the battlefield of post salvation discipleship.
It matters not (to the devil) if he accomplishes this through distracting prosperity (8), or by way of intense adversity (9).
The divine solution to successfully manage prosperity (10), and or to weather the adversity, is to build, maintain, and to apply a Biblically-sound soul-structure (11), using the enabling power that God supplies.
Attempting to weather these storms by using our own human resources and abilities will prove to be a frustrating and disappointing battle.
Trying to overcome spiritual battles by using the ways of the world or the solutions promoted by Man-made religion, will prove to be just as unfruitful.
Spiritual battles must be weathered and fought by using the Eph. 6 spiritual armor and weaponry. Venturing out onto the battlefield of spiritual warfare ill-equipped (12), makes us easy targets, resulting in spiritual disaster (13).
(1) Job 2: 10 (2) Heb. 12: 6 (3) Rom. 10: 13 (4) Eph. 4: 30 (5) Titus 3: 5 (6) John 3: 5,7 (7) 2Tim. 2: 26 (8) Luke 4: 6 (9) Eph. 6: 16 (10) Mark 8: 36 (11) Matt. 7: 24ff/2Cor. 13: 5/James 1: 22 (612) Eph. 4: 12 (13) Matt. 7: 27
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My favorite line: When these storms hit us, the advancing disciple will learn NOT to ask God WHY, but will ask Him WHAT is the objective that God has in mind.