How to Survive the Winds of Life

The winds of life swirl to and fro inside and outside wherever you go. You can not run, and you can not hide. How can you face them and live to thrive?

I stepped out my front door into a beautiful breezy, partly cloudy, sixty-degree day with my trusty furry four-legged friend Ollie. He lives to smell the grass, bushes, and search for squirrels on our walks.  Half a mile into our walk a mighty gust of wind hit us from the side, making it difficult to keep walking in a straight line.

“Ollie, maybe this was not a good day to take a walk. Maybe we should turn back.” I said, stopping to ponder my choices. “If we quit and turn around, you will not get your exercise watching me on the treadmill, and I will be stuck inside. Ollie, we are going to persevere because it is only wind.”

We endured the side winds until we turned the corner. Suddenly we felt the thrust of the wind at our backs, challenging us to stay in control and not rush ahead of our feet. We persevered and kept going. We continued along a curved path to meet a gale wind head on, taking our breath away.

“Come on, Ollie, we can finish,” I said, reaching down patting his head. “Let’s lean into the wind and thrust ourselves forward until we make it around the next corner.” We persevered and kept going to reach our last corner two blocks from home.

It would have been easy to turn around at the half mile and let the wind push us back home. Instead, I committed to finishing our journey. No matter where the wind came from or where it tried to make us go, we made it home. Within a few minutes, the wind had stopped, and all was calm.

We went inside, and I sat on the sofa to catch my breath while Ollie got a drink. Today’s walk was intense, leaving me weary but triumphant. This experience brought a parallel to the many winds of trials in my life. Some started small and gained velocity over time. Some came out of nowhere catching me off guard and leaving me with little if any control. The worst hurricanes came from deep inside, winds of fear, sadness, uncertainty, and self-doubt.

We all encounter difficult winds throughout our life. You will be tempted to retreat into safety or to let them control you. However, when you decide, to walk through the winds of your life hand in hand with Jesus, you will experience times of stillness, peace, strength, and courage in the midst of the storm.

You may not see how the storms in your life can help you. Sometimes storms can make you aware of weakness. They can sand off the rough parts of your character that have surfaced. They are also required to build your faith and endurance, transforming you into a mature disciple of Christ. Jesus tells us about this process and what happens to us when we stay walking with him in Ephesians 4:14, 15.

¹⁴ “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Be strong and persevere no matter how you feel. Do not allow the challenging wind storms in your marriage, parenting, or self-value to let the destroyer have a foothold in your mind, heart, or spirit. Hold on to the truth that you are the beloved child of God and Jesus is holding your hand and empowering you to finish strong. Be courageous and determined to stay on God’s path to eternal life!

What winds or storms of life have you endured?