As I am typing this, I am wearing approximately 6 layers of clothes, a hunter-orange vest, and a neck warmer, with a buck grunt call hanging around my neck. And I am soaking wet.

This morning I, once again, packed up my stuff and headed for the deer woods, but after a while it started to rain. It was just a drizzle at first, but soon it turned into a real downpour. As I sat next to my tree, trying to decide if I wanted to wait it out or not, it occurred to me that nobody likes the rain. But the fact is, as much as we may dislike it, it is a necessary thing. If it never rained we wouldn't be able to survive.

Could it be that the same thing is true spiritually? Nobody likes it when storms roll in, but they are needed if we are to grow in the Lord.