S6 EP19 | 4 Ways to Respond in The Face of Life’s Storms
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression before - you reap what you sow. But have you actually considered it when looking at your life? Do you struggle in your relationships? Are you often discontent? Do you constantly feel unfilled and at odds with life? There is a chance you are the creator of your own reality based on what you're sowing in your life - the way you spend your time, the mindsets you cling to and more.
Be challenged and encouraged in today’s episode.
Put It in Perspective
Carla encourages us to put life's storms in perspective. Our current troubles are temporary, and we are on a journey towards our eternal home. Remembering that our ultimate destination is heaven helps us not to be overwhelmed by temporary setbacks.
Lean into Gratitude
Even when things don't go our way, Carla emphasizes the importance of leaning into gratitude. Gratitude shifts our focus from what we've lost to the blessings we still have. Giving thanks in all circumstances aligns us with God's will.
Focus on the Controllable
During life's storms, concentrate on what you can control: your emotions, reactions, and behavior. Self-control is a sign of wisdom. By managing ourselves well, we can be a positive example to those around us.
Trust God's Sovereignty
Don’t underestimate the significance of trusting in God's sovereignty. Even when we don't understand why storms occur, we can trust that God is working for our good and His glory. Our temporary comfort is less important to Him than our long-term spiritual growth.
Facing life's storms is never easy, but with the right perspective, gratitude, self-control, and trust in God's sovereignty, we can navigate them with faith and resilience. These four practical steps provide guidance for responding to life's challenges with grace and hope.
Affirming Truth
By relying on the power of the Holy Spirit within us, we can face life's storms as conquerors.
Key scriptures:
Romans 8:37
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Proverbs 16:32
Ephesians 2:10
Romans 8:28
Connect With Carla:
Inquire about 1:1 coaching ---> carlaagreswellness@gmail.com
Join In His Image Wellness Collective ---> carlaargeswellness@gmail.com
Come hangout on IG with me @carlaarges
Check out the blog
TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Carla Arges: Hey friends, welcome to Affirming Truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith, and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review.
[00:00:30] Carla Arges: I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hey friends, welcome to the last Monday episode of season six of Affirming Truths. I am so excited you guys have been here through season six. Maybe you've been here from the beginning and I really appreciate you. If you have gotten value out of this season, please take a moment to leave a review.
[00:00:59] Carla Arges: They're [00:01:00] so meaningful to the podcast in growing and reaching a new audience. And it would just mean the world to me. Okay, we're going to talk today about how we can respond when we face life's storms. And I was really inspired by this, by what happened to me this past weekend. We had a garage sale. We planned for this garage sale.
[00:01:27] Carla Arges: We took time to find items to sell. We advertised it. We got up early Saturday morning, set it up, and then the rain came. And it came viciously. Thunder, lightning. We threw things in the car. We put a tarp over things. But essentially, our garage sale was ruined. And the tarp blew off and the things we wanted to sell got ruined and we had to throw [00:02:00] things away.
[00:02:01] Carla Arges: And in that moment, I just leaned into gratitude and I just leaned into responding in a way that A, wasn't going to derail the rest of my day and B, would be an example for my son on how we respond when things don't go our way. Now it has taken me a lot of time and intention to get to that place where I can respond that way.
[00:02:30] Carla Arges: In the past, and maybe this will resonate with you, I've responded by anger, or frustration, or anxiety. When things didn't go my way, I would feel out of sorts, loss of control. And it would really affect my day, sometimes even longer. And not only would it affect me, But the fact that I was living in this negativity [00:03:00] would affect the people around me that I loved, and I realized that is not the way I want to live.
[00:03:07] Carla Arges: And more than that, that is not the way God wants us to live. God does not want us overcome by life's storms. God does not want us shaken when things don't go our way. He wants us standing firm, trusting His sovereignty, and walking in His will. So how do we do that? I have for you today four ways to respond in the face of the storm.
[00:03:33] Carla Arges: Are you ready? Get a pen, get a paper, write these down. Let's go. First, you have to put it in perspective. You have to put it in perspective. Second Corinthians 4, 16 to 17 says, Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away. Yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day, for our [00:04:00] light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
[00:04:08] Carla Arges: We have to put our life storm in perspective, friends. We are not living for the here and now. We are passing through on our way to our eternal home. We came here, it says in the Bible, naked, we're going to die naked. We can't take any of us with us. So let's put it in perspective. If it's not going to matter an hour from now, if it's not going to matter a week from now, if it's not going to matter a year from now, why are you going to let it rob you of the joy and the peace that God wants to dispose, dispose, put on you?
[00:04:47] Carla Arges: bestow on you, right? You have to put it in perspective. Number two, lean into gratitude. When the storm came for my garage sale, [00:05:00] it came a little under an hour before we started. So rather than look at all that we had lost, I focused on the blessing. Of the few minutes we had before it rained and the interactions we had before it rained, I leaned into gratitude.
[00:05:19] Carla Arges: I had been praying that it wouldn't rain and it still did. Sometimes we pray for God to rescue us and that rescue doesn't come about the way that we wanted it. Sometimes we ask for an answered prayer and the prayer doesn't get answered in our timing. What does that mean? It means we still give thanks.
[00:05:42] Carla Arges: First Thessalonians 5 18 says give thanks in all circumstances. Does it say give thanks just when God answers your prayer? Does it say just give thanks when you get your way? Is it just give thanks when all the ducks are in a row? [00:06:00] No, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
[00:06:09] Carla Arges: Friends, when we are living in the will of God, we are living at the eye of joy and love and peace. Being in the will of God, even through the most difficult circumstances, is what brings you rest. So give thanks, that is his will for your life. Number three, I want you to focus on the controllable. So often when a storm comes and these outside forces that we have no control over, Ruin what we're planning, get in the way.
[00:06:47] Carla Arges: We often tend to look at the very thing we can't control and we, we fight against it and we try to reign over it and we can't. We need to focus on [00:07:00] the controllable and what is that? What is in our control is our emotions. We can take charge over it. We don't have to react. We can take a deep breath and redirect our thoughts, which will redirect our feelings.
[00:07:17] Carla Arges: We can control how we model behavior for those around us. We can control whether we go to prayer or not. We can control us. Do you get that? Take control of yourself. You've been given a spirit of self control, so control yourself. Looking at the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs 16, 32, he says, Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than the one who takes a city.
[00:07:54] Carla Arges: It is wise to be able to control yourself in situations. [00:08:00] When the storm comes, focus on the controllable, on what you can do and how you can respond and how you can walk out looking and living like Jesus in a tough circumstance. What is the testimony of your life during that storm? That's what you can control.
[00:08:22] Carla Arges: And number four, you need to trust God's sovereignty. Proverbs 3, 5 says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. God is sovereign in the storm. And we may not know. Why he allows the storm to come, but we can trust his character that he only wants good for us and we can trust his character is more concerned with our holiness and making it us like Jesus than he is with our temporary [00:09:00] comfort.
[00:09:01] Carla Arges: And we can trust that that is out of love. We can trust Romans 8, 28, that he will work all things out for our good and for his glory, for his purposes, for his kingdom to come. So friends, I know being in the storm is not easy. I've walked through many storms in my life. And guess what? I know I'm going to walk through many more because Jesus told us in this world, we will have trials.
[00:09:35] Carla Arges: We're going to see the storm, but guess what? He has overcome. The storm is not the end of the story. The rainbow is the promise. The rainbow is our hope. Our life is an eternity. And right now is our training ground for the roles we're going to have in heaven. [00:10:00] Isn't that exciting? How about we looked at our storm as, Lord, what do you want to teach me here?
[00:10:07] Carla Arges: Lord, how do you want to grow me here? Lord, what are you training me for here? How can my life be a reflection of you in this time and space, in this season? And I'm not saying it's not easy and I'm not saying that some of the storms come with grief that is real and that we have to work through and lament that is from our souls that we cry out from God that can very well be.
[00:10:37] Carla Arges: I'm not saying deny the grief. Take it to Jesus. Take Lament. But once the lament is over, make sure you come back to these four ways of response. Put it into perspective, lean into gratitude, focus on the controllable, [00:11:00] and trust God's sovereignty. Trust God's sovereignty. Your affirming truth for you today is that by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you, you can face any of life's storm as a conqueror, because it says in the word that we are therefore now more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
[00:11:32] Carla Arges: Friends, you're not going through the storm alone. Jesus is in the boat with you. You can trust that you will get to the other side. I'll talk to you later.
[00:11:51] Carla Arges: Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Karla [00:12:00] Arges or at Affirming Truths. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye friends.