God is in control of the storms of life. Photo courtesy of WikiImages / Pixabay
Psalm 107:23-28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;24 They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And [c]were at their wits’ end.28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
Earlier today I read what a retired Navy Vice Admiral wrote about the excitement and terror of being on a ship that was literally rolled about at sea. It was the first day of his assignment on this ship, and he was terrified. Life is like an ocean, and many are the terrifying experiences that toss us about when we least expect it. When you’re rolled about by the deep, dark, ocean waves of life, the faith-habits you’ve cultivated up to that point will determine how well you make out.
People who do business in great waters don’t play it safe in life. They take God-inspired chances. They don’t go out in deep waters because they are fearless. They go out in deep waters because of faith. Having faith means knowing that God is faithful. Doing business in the great waters of faith means that sooner or later you will see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep moments of your life.
When I was younger and practiced medicine, deep water meant patients who were severely ill with multiple complications that were difficult to treat and carried a high risk of death. Making rounds at 2 AM, I often looked around and found that I was the most senior physician on the floor, surrounded by a skeleton crew of interns, residents, medical students and nurses. I worked hard to keep my people in the land of the living. After hours of thinking and writing progress reports and orders, I’d call my mother to pray with me for the lives of my patients. Wearied, I’d go home for a few hours of sleep, and awaken to find that God answered our prayers.
Now that I’m older and retired from practice, I have the honor of being a caregiver for my dear mother who prayed for me during those many stormy hospital nights. Now the storms are even more frightening, because the bright skies of youthful resilience and strength are often replaced by the darker, tempered skies of brought to our front door by advanced age. For us the next major horizon is death. In between we roll in the deep of sickness and the death of our dearly loved ones.
Prayer keeps us standing. I think one of the most important of the lessons we can learn from Psalm 107 is that stormy seas are not random events. Verse 25 says: “He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea.” Nothing takes God by surprise: He is in control of every storm. We might be overwhelmed. Our souls might melt away in our misery. We might reel and stagger like a drunken man, and find ourselves at our wits’ end. But, God is in control. He spoke and raised up the stormy wind that lifted up the waves of the sea as easily as a woman lifts the hem of her garment.
Even as the Lord speaks and raises up a stormy wind and waves that make us stagger like drunken men, He also says to the storm: “This far and no further.” He says, “Peace be still,” and the storms must stop. Maintaining faith in our Creator and holding the hand of our Savior is our challenge. When we ride the storm waves centered in Christ, we can see the waves through His eyes. That is how we become witnesses to His faithfulness and His wonders in the deep.
Until we meet again: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
– Your friend in Christ,
Verneda
Twitter handle: @vlights
Related Reading:
Sunday’s Sermon: “Standing in the Storm” by Pastor Jasper W. Williams, Jr.
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