Praising Through the Storm: Worshiping God in Every Season

Praising in Every Season

We recently got back from a Christian music festival. It was a weekend spent camping, exploring the grounds, and singing praises to the Creator. We love attending this festival every year! It seems to fill your soul as much as it fills your ears. Days spent surrounded by fellow believers, powerful lyrics ringing through the air, listening to the artists share their hearts and experiences, and most of all voices raised in worship to the One who deserves it all.

Reflection: Worship in Every Season

Take a few quiet moments today to reflect.

1. What “season” are you in right now?
   Is it bright and sunny, or are you feeling the rain?

2. How have you seen God’s faithfulness in past storms?
   Think back to times He brought peace in the middle of chaos. Take time to remember His past goodness and faithfulness.

3. What does praising God look like for you today — even if the skies are gray?
   You don’t need to have the perfect words. He welcomes your honest words and sincere heart.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You that You never change, no matter the season I’m in. You are steadfast and faithful always. Help me to not only praise You when it’s easy and things are going well, but help me to praise you even when life feels hard. Teach me to worship You through the storms and trust that You are working, even when I don’t see it. You are my rock and my anchor, always. Amen.

Each year, there seems to be something that stands out to me. And of course, it always seems to be especially applicable to what is happening in my own life at the time. God is amazing like that, am I right? But one of the things that struck me the most this year wasn’t the music, the speakers, or the incredible messages that were shared on stage. It was the weather. And how the crowd responded to it.

Over the course of the weekend, we experienced it all. There were moments of hot, beaming sunshine — the kind that makes you squint and sweat and pull out your sunglasses. The kind that makes you so thankful for even a hint of a cool breeze. We definitely experienced that! But, on Friday evening, gray clouds rolled in and the skies opened up. The temperatures dropped. The rain fell. People popped up umbrellas, purchased ponchos, walked through muddy grounds.

But here’s the best part: the worship didn’t stop.

Thousands of voices kept singing. People raised their hands. The artist on the stage was even brushing water off the stage with a broom at one point! But, so many people stayed. Huddled together. Singing and praising. And in that moment, I couldn’t help but think — this is what it looks like to worship through the storms.

Seasons of Sunshine and Storms

Isn’t that just like life?

There are sunny seasons, when things feel good and right and full of joy. Relationships are going well, doors open, and it feels easy to sing God’s praises. Those mountain top times when all feels like it should be.

But there are rainy seasons, too. Sometimes even stormy ones. Times when we’re soaked to the bone — emotionally, physically, spiritually. The days when it feels like things are falling apart, and all we want is a break in the clouds. Times when we are in the valley and we desperately want some help.

The beautiful thing is that God is just as present in the rain as He is in the sun.

And sometimes, it’s the praise that rises from the hard places that means the most. There’s something raw, real, and powerful about worship that doesn’t come after the storm, but in the middle of it. That kind of worship acknowledges who God really is. The One who is in control of it all and the One who is with us through it all.

That evening at the festival reminded me that worship isn’t about comfort. It’s not about the perfect setting, or sunny skies, or having everything together. It's not about getting everything that you pray for just as you'd like. It’s about choosing to lift our eyes even when life feels heavy. It’s about singing anyway.

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
— Habakkuk 3:17–18 (ESV)

We see this throughout Scripture. So many people in the Bible faced challenges and heartache. Let's look at a few:

Paul and Silas

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
— Acts 16:25 (ESV)

Paul and Silas had just been beaten and thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. Crowds had attacked them, they were stripped of their garments, and they were beaten with rods. As they sat locked in the prison, beaten and sore, they didn't wallow in self-pity. Instead, they lifted up songs of praise from the cold, dark jail cell. They prayed and sang to God. And the best part? Their worship didn’t just strengthen their own hearts — it led to a miraculous earthquake, open prison doors, and the salvation of the jailer and his family.

Job

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’”
— Job 1:20–21 (ESV)

Job lost everything — his children, his wealth, his health — he lost it all and met extreme devastation. But even in the midst of unimaginable grief and loss, his first response was to fall on his face in worship. He didn’t understand why all of the bad things had happened, but he still chose to bless the name of the Lord. He didn't need answers in order to trust God. He trusted God anyway.

Hannah

“Then Hannah prayed and said: ‘My heart rejoices in the Lord...’”
— 1 Samuel 2:1 (NIV)

Hannah desperately wanted a child. For years, she prayed and hoped for this desire to be fulfilled. Full of anguish and grief, Hannah brought her pain and longing to God in honest worship. She poured out her soul in the temple, not with polished words but with deep emotion. She called out to God and worshipped Him in the midst of her pain. And in this story...God answered her prayer with the birth of Samuel. Even after her prayer was answered, Hannah continued to worship — giving God full glory. She worshipped in the storm of waiting, and she worshipped in the sunny days of celebration.

Worship in the Bible isn't always full of joy and celebration. Sometimes it is full of heartache, grief, and the storms of life. Like Paul and Silas, singing from a prison cell. Like Job, worshiping through heartbreak and loss. Like Hannah, pouring out worship in the middle of the wait.

These weren’t easy moments — they were storms. But in each case, praise still rose up. And God met them there.

In my own life, I’ve recently walked through the painful process of saying goodbye to my dad — and just this month, we laid his ashes to rest. There’s a weight to grief that’s hard to put into words. And yet, even in that sadness, I’ve found myself clinging tighter to God. Praising in the middle of that heartache hasn’t always come easy. But it’s been real. And maybe that’s the most beautiful kind of worship — the kind that’s offered with tears in your eyes but hope still in your heart.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”
— Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)

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⭐Check out our other faith-based posts⭐

• El Roi: The God Who Sees You

• When Negative Emotions Threaten to Take Over

• Embracing the Goodness of God Daily

• Finding Comfort in God Amid Life's Challenges

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