Safe, But Still Suffering: The Storm After Obedience

Before the Rainbow Came the Flood

When God Shuts the Door

There is a part of the story of Noah that we do not talk about enough.

We celebrate the rainbow.
We quote the promise.
We point to the ending.

But what about the moment when God shut the door?

What did it feel like inside the ark when the skies opened?
When the rain began to pour?
When the waters started rushing in?

Noah obeyed God.
He followed every instruction.
He built what he was told to build.

And still, obedience did not bring immediate peace.

I want us to imagine what it felt like.

The sound of rain pounding.
The weight of responsibility.
Animals restless.
Family watching.
Waves crashing.

And no clear timeline for when it would end.

Because suffering well does not mean it will not feel like hell.

The boat will keep you from drowning.
But it will not save you from feeling.

Being human means we will walk through things we do not understand.
Because only God is sovereign.

Sometimes uncertainty feels like a flood.
Like rushing waters.
Like raging storms inside and out.

And as believers, we have to learn how to navigate what is happening within us
so we can continue to show up for those we love
and still bring God glory.

There will be moments where doubt tries to creep in.
Fear.
Anxiety.
Even depression.

And in those moments, we have to declare that the Holy Spirit has dominion.
Not casually.
But with belief.

Because Jesus Christ left that gift for every believer.

Handling hell well does not mean you will not go through troubled waters.
If anything, it guarantees it.

Think about every powerful story in the Bible.
There is always a moment where it looks like there is no way out.

But God.

That is where miracles begin.
In the space where faith has to grow stronger than fear.

No matter what it looks like.

People may think you are too young.
They may think your story does not compare.

But the only life we are called to measure ourselves against is Jesus.

He showed us what it means to love well.
To teach boldly.
To lay down your life for others.

I have said it before, and I will say it again.
Without Jesus and Jada, I would not be here.

Not just physically.
But mentally.
Emotionally.
Spiritually.

There were moments where life felt too heavy to carry.
Moments where my mind was not a safe place to be.
Where giving up felt closer than holding on.

And I believe, with full honesty,
that without my faith, without something greater than my pain to anchor me,
I could have taken my own life
or slowly allowed the world to take pieces of me until there was nothing left.

And I am not the only Christian who has felt that way.

But Jesus kept me.
And Jada gave me a reason to keep choosing to stay.

And even now, staying requires work.

Being present is work.
Choosing to live in the here and now is work.

Because the truth is, this moment, is all we are promised.
Yet we spend so much of our lives living in the past
or trying to control a future we cannot see.

We live in what would have been.
What could have been.
Who should have done what.

And in the process, we miss what is.

We miss the breath in our lungs.
We miss the people in front of us.
We miss the small moments that are actually holding us together.

We are more connected than ever through technology,
yet more disconnected than ever in spirit.

And if we are honest,
money and fear are ruling the mind of man.

But none of this is new.

This is biblical.

The struggle between faith and fear.
Between trust and control.
Between spirit and flesh.

So every day, I have to make a choice.
To come back to the present.
To come back to God.
To come back to what is real.

Because peace is not found in the past.
And it is not waiting for me in the future.

It is here.
If I am willing to receive it.

God shows up.

Every time.

He gives me something to hope for.

This is why hope matters.
This is why faith matters.
This is why love matters.

Because these are the things that last.

Noah had to be willing to look foolish.
He had to trust God in the middle of a storm that made no sense.
He had to believe what he could not yet see.

And we always focus on the rainbow.

But what about the in-between?

What about the waiting?
The wondering?
The working while the storm is still raging?

Imagine receiving instructions from a God you cannot see.
Following them exactly.
And still feeling uncertainty.

Hearing the waves.
Feeling the pressure.
Serving others.

And not knowing when it will end.

Some of us are there right now.

Some of us can see the rainbow.
Some of us are still on the boat.
Some of us are still building.

But at some point, we will all understand what it feels like
to have nowhere else to go
and still choose to trust God.

My pastor once said we are either coming out of a storm,
in the middle of one,
or heading into one.

And I am here to tell you
there is always work to be done.

When you come out, there is work.
When you are in it, there is work.
Even when you are heading in and do not know it yet
there is work.

The real question is this:

What are you doing while you wait for the next instruction?

Are you praying?
Are you believing?
Are you serving the people God has placed in your life?

Or are you questioning the call
like those who never made it to the other side?

Scripture reminds us that many are called, but few are chosen.

Will you answer?

God is looking for willing vessels.

We all have free will.
How are you using yours?

No human is perfect.
Judging others because they sin differently than you
will not bring you closer to Jesus.

There is only one you.

Make your life count.

Because our days are numbered
and we do not know when our last one will come.

As my daughter’s only living parent,
I carry a weight I cannot fully explain.

And I am grateful for our support system.

But more than anything,
I surrender our lives to God daily.

Because no one has it all figured out.

And I am determined to make sure
the human life God trusts me with
knows Jesus
and has a testimony she can carry for herself.

Momma is doing her best.
And God always takes care of the rest.

In my weakness, His strength is made complete.

He knows every fear.
I submit every plan.

Our lives are in His hands.

No matter what it looks like,
I will let my faith be the boat that carries me
from faith to faith
and from glory to glory.

Because God is the author of our story.

He has been with us since the beginning.

And I will declare that Jesus is Lord
for the rest of my life
for all generations to come.

My prayer is that we all learn to do the same.