Whirlwinds, Storms and Yachts...
Sailing in bliss, the
yacht of life gracefully glides forward, it's a perfect weather made for beautiful
pictures to be displayed on facebook and instagram. All is calm and bright and
wonderful. There are jokes, laughter and there is rest until suddenly, a violent whirlwind comes to
rock your world; your expensive, classy yacht feels like it’s going to be
buried in the once peaceful sea of life. The fierce wind howls mockingly. In
that moment, the sunshine and laughter of the calm weather, the luxury of life
as it was begins to feel like an illusion.
A trial of such great turmoil hits
your life, violent and destructive in it’s own way and you feel like it’s all
over, because the man got you to get on the boat in the first place, this man
Jesus, seems silent, like He’s asleep. It doesn’t even make sense to think He’s
in the boat with you because if He really were, He would stir from His sleep
and rescue you. Thus we let fear lead us to all sorts of prayer houses and
panic overdrive… we run around shouting for help and are willing to be saved by
anyone who can get us out of the rocking boat and far away from the storm.
‘One day he and his disciples got in a
boat. “Let’s cross the lake,” he said. And off they went. It was smooth
sailing, and he fell asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake.
Water poured in, and they were about to capsize. They woke Jesus: “Master,
Master, we’re going to drown!”
Getting to his feet, he told the wind,
“Silence!” and the waves, “Quiet down!” They did it. The lake became smooth as
glass.
Then he said to his disciples, “Why
can’t you trust me?”’ Luke 8: 22-25(msg)
If the disciples stood still long
enough to think, they would probably have realized that the storm was strong
enough to destroy them but it didn’t, because it couldn’t, because they had Jesus and they were in the boat because they were following Him. They said, “We’re going to drown” another version
says “we are perishing”… but they didn't drown and they didn't perish! They were still standing even
though they were staggering about…
I am in a storm, like many of
us… our calm may have been destroyed, but think about it, you’re not mopping
all day in depression, you can still sleep at night and your appetite hasn’t
totally ceased, you still push and have a will to live, to take it one step at
a time. You still find things to make you laugh even with the pressure. You haven’t committed suicide even if you may have thought about it… Yes
there is a storm, a fierce whirlwind
filling your beautiful yacht of life with water, trying to take you under, but think about it… if it
could kill you, you would have been dead by now, you would have drowned in all
the issues. It looks like it’s going to drown you, but as far as I'm
concerned, you have not drowned, and your head is still above water, it would
take you down if it could... you're still winning, until you jump overboard in fear.
You're still standing because deep inside, you're holding on to something, to someone... God! Well that may not be your story, but that's mine. I stand, because I know He's in this boat with me, it's scary sometimes, and I feel like the disciples must have felt, but I don't jump off in my fear, I do they same thing they did, run to nudge Him awake... because I know He can and will make everything alright.
Sometimes I'm strong enough to stare the storm in the face, not bothering with panicking and throwing a tantrum at God in my trust, knowing that He will and it'll be fine in the end.
You're still standing because deep inside, you're holding on to something, to someone... God! Well that may not be your story, but that's mine. I stand, because I know He's in this boat with me, it's scary sometimes, and I feel like the disciples must have felt, but I don't jump off in my fear, I do they same thing they did, run to nudge Him awake... because I know He can and will make everything alright.
Sometimes I'm strong enough to stare the storm in the face, not bothering with panicking and throwing a tantrum at God in my trust, knowing that He will and it'll be fine in the end.
If being broke and jobless,
unmarried or without child, called a failure and being confused about your future, or stumbling
over and over again, getting passed over for promotion and loosing another bid
for yet another life changing contract had the power to kill you, you’d be
dead. But it hasn’t, because you have Jesus in the boat with you and even if it
feels like He’s sleeping, His presence alone is enough to keep you living,
knowing that it’s alright, and it’s just a matter of time before He speaks to
the storm saying “peace be still”.
So in the meantime, He’s
asking you and the doubt and fear you accommodate, that’s about making you jump
ship “Why can’t you trust me?”“ why are you afraid? You have so little
faith” “Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?” “Why are you
timid and afraid, O you of little faith?”
The righteous man has many
troubles, but God always delivers him. “The Lord is close to
the brokenhearted, he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous
person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.”Psalm
34:18-19
He comes to your rescue each
time… going through a storm of sickness or whatever? Keep going, the storm
can’t get you, He’s here and it’s only a matter of time before He says “peace be still” and you’re back to
relaxing in the sun on the deck of your yacht of life and just living.
“The peace of God does not assume everything will be all right. It confirms that simply because we have God, everything is alright.” Ezekiel Azonwu @wordsbyezekiel
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thank you, the storm can be quiet choking sometimes that we trivialize God's faithfulness
ReplyDeleteThank you for these uplifting words.
ReplyDeleteA word in season.
ReplyDeleteA word in season.
ReplyDelete