Rooted through the Storm

INTRODUCTION:

There’s a woman named Joni Eareckson Tada.

When she was 17 years old, she dove into shallow water and broke her neck. In an instant, she became a quadriplegic — paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Seventeen years old. Full of life. Athletic. Strong.

And suddenly — everything changed.

The early days were dark. She has said she wrestled with deep depression. She questioned God. She wondered if life was still worth living. She wasn’t pretending it didn’t hurt.

It hurt.

But over time, something began to grow in her that was deeper than her paralysis.

She learned to paint with a brush in her mouth. She began writing. Speaking. Encouraging others who were suffering. Decades later, she is still in that wheelchair.

And here’s what she says now:

“God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves.”

Let’s sit in that for a minute

First — notice what she didn’t say

She didn’t say God causes what He hates

She didn’t say God celebrates suffering

She didn’t say God is indifferent to pain

She said He permits what He hates

God hates paralysis

God hates cancer

God hates abuse

God hates death

Suffering was never part of the original design

The storm is not proof of God’s delight

It is evidence that we live in a broken world

But here’s the second half — and this is where hope lives:

“…to accomplish what He loves.”

What does God love?

He loves forming Christ in us

He loves deep dependence on Him

He loves refining faith

He loves producing perseverance

He loves eternal glory

He loves drawing us closer than comfort ever could

God hates the storm.

But He loves what the storm can produce.

Storms are productive.

Not pleasant

Not painless

But productive

God never wastes pain

TENSION

We don’t mind following Jesus when the skies are clear.

But when:

The diagnosis comes

The job falls through

The relationship fractures

The prayer feels unanswered

The church vision feels heavy

The anxiety won’t lift

Storms tempt us to interpret pain as proof that something is wrong

We think:

“If God loved me, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“If I had more faith, this would be easier.”

“Maybe I missed God somewhere.”

The question we need to answer is this:

How do we stay rooted when life feels like it’s shaking?

TRUTH

We have to change our perspective

Paul says something almost offensive in 2 Corinthians 4:17–18

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Small?

Paul was beaten. Imprisoned. Shipwrecked. Hunted

He wasn’t minimizing pain — he was maximizing eternity

He compares present suffering with eternal glory

Paul isn’t saying storms don’t hurt

He’s saying they don’t win

Here’s what he reveals:

Storms are temporary

Even long seasons are short compared to forever

Storms are producing something

Storms are not pointless

They deepen faith

They refine character

They detach us from the temporary

They drive our roots deeper into Christ

Storms require a shift in focus

Rooted people don’t deny what they see

They just refuse to live by it

They live by what is unseen:

God’s faithfulness

God’s promises

God’s eternal plan

God’s presence in the storm

APPLICATION

If we want to be rooted through the storm, here’s what it requires:

Anchor your life on what doesn’t change

Circumstances change

Emotions change

God does not

When storms hit, return to what is true:

God is good.

God is near.

God is working.

God finishes what He starts.

Let the storm deepen you, not define you

Ask:

“What is God forming in me?”

“What root is growing because of this?”

“What dependency is He developing?”

Lift Your Eyes

Paul says we fix our gaze.

Storms pull your eyes downward

Rooted faith lifts them upward

When Peter looked at the wind, he sank

When he looked at Jesus, he walked

What you focus on fuels you

Remember: Glory Is Coming

The pain is real

But it is not final

What’s unseen is outweighing what’s seen.

The storm may shake you — But it cannot uproot you If you are rooted in Christ.