“You heavens above, rain down righteousness; lets the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.” Isaiah 45:8

The dictionary states that a storm is any disturbed state of a body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface. I cannot present a better description of adversity as it relates to this verse from the Bible.

We are all called to righteousness through our faith but our faith can only grow through our walk. Many of us have a faith stand, a faith that determines how we respond to situations in regards to God. But how many of us have an active faith walk? Our faith walk is our faith in forward motion, progressing towards something higher, deeper and emergent. I love the image of this Bible verse as it poses the visual of righteousness passing through the clouds prior to its growth. The words speak of the earth opening wide to receive the rain as it has been created by God.

As hard as it is, we are to embrace our adversities and suffering as a means to develop a faith walk. To possess a faith stand is to be complacent with where your faith resides and to not move. A faith walk is to never be satisfied with our level of faith, to always be in forward motion progressing in our faith and allowing it breathing room to grow. Passing through adversity and suffering is the means to grow our faith walk and obtain true righteousness.

One thing is certain – when our faith becomes a stand instead of a walk we will be left behind in our faith stifling our righteousness.