Dianne Barker here, wondering. Where are you? It’s a beautiful, sunny day in Tennessee where I live, but last week storms battered our community. Maybe you’re in a sunny life-place. Or not. I’ve come through many life storms myself. Through is the optimum word.

In a violent weather incident, we expect an end. We will get through this. There will be sunshine again.

Life storms are less predictable. The intensity spins us like rag dolls in a tornado, leaving us uncertain we will come through.

I’m convinced Christ-followers can withstand any storm as long as we know God has a purpose. The problem: often we don’t have a clue what he’s doing.

I remember such a time. My mother-in-law, one remarkable woman, had managed to stay out of the hospital until age seventy-five, when she encountered a bully—diabetes.

It had been a long day for me—checking on my parents, carpooling the kids, fixing meals for my father-in-law, and stopping by the hospital. I left there late, dreading the last thing on my list—grocery shopping.

By the time I started home, darkness had come, bringing a light rain. The dreary October night sent a chill over me, and weariness drenched me with despair. I felt alone and forlorn, fighting tears as I waited for the traffic light to change.

My heart silently cried out, “Lord, why does it have to be so hard?”

He answered. You could have it easier. But it would be a shallow life.

The thought terrified me. A shallow life! Never having a need that drove me to his feet. Never hearing his sweet voice. Never feeling his strong arms holding me up. Never knowing the depth of his compassion. Never knowing him well enough even to voice my complaint. Never knowing him as I have come to know him in life storms—as my all in all.

My heart cried out, “Anything, Lord! Anything but a shallow life!”

When life is spinning and I see no purpose in the storm, I still know he has a purpose. This verse satisfies me.

“For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised” (Hebrews 10:36 Amplified).

When storms batter my life and nothing makes sense, I trust our sovereign Lord is developing my steadfast patience and endurance…and he will bring me through this! Who knows what he has planned for tomorrow!

Dianne Barker is a speaker, radio host, and author of 11 books. This post is adapted from her award-winning I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life. She’s a member of Christian Authors Network, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and Christian Women in Media Association. Visit www.diannebarker.com