"And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”' And he said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?' Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?'" - Matthew 8:23-27
In the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, Susan asked Mr. Beaver if Aslan (a type of Christ) was safe. Mr. Beaver replied, "Safe? Oh no, but He is good." In line with that, Martie shared a quote by Deitrick Bonhoeffer.
"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.” - Deitrick Bonhoeffer
In tandem with that thought is a quote from the sermon we heard this past Sunday.
"Life is subject to change without notice." - Pastor Russell Howard
So much uncertainty in this life. At least for us, but not for God.
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." - Proverbs 16:9
We know God is with us, but we don't live like it most often. We live like we are the captains of our own ships. Determining our own course and conditions. Most of us would prefer to be in a boat when the seas are calm. That is when it is easy to trust God. When no waves are rocking your boat.
Some years ago, in between calls to serve, we owned a Proline 23 foot Cuddy Cabin that we fished in off of Destin, Florida. As much as we enjoyed that boat we had a rule that if the seas were greater than 2 - 3 feet we stayed on shore or in the bay. We wanted to be on the water, but on our terms. The fact is we had a hard time standing up when the waves were higher than that. And Martie had another rule, she had to be able to see the tops of the sky scrapers on the northern horizon. Even though she knew all we had to do was point the boat North to get back to land, it did not matter. Calm seas or not.
My point is that we are more concerned with the situations we find ourselves in and less about Who is in the boat with us. Recall that Jesus was asleep in the same boat with the disciples in the midst of that storm. Like the disciples, we are OK so long as we can control what is happening. Our focus is not necessarily on God during those times. Sure we can acknowledge that God is sovereign but then doubt that He is able to see us through the times when things our out of our control, when the seas get rough. A friend recently said, "If God will lead you to it, He can get you through it." Even if it goes sideways. - Even if our boat sinks!
Sometimes we will say "no" to God - not because of what is happening, but because of what might happen. Fear and doubt can find its way into your heart even when you are safe at home snuggled in your bed. It's a faith problem. Jesus accused the disciples of having a small faith - faith that was based upon calm seas.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction [or evidence] of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1
Things hoped for - Evidence of things not seen - Like the fact that God is with you even when the seas are raging around you. We have all been there. Perhaps you are there even now.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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