The waves
are crashing over the little rowboat. It
is being tossed by each wave that hits it.
The wood cracks under the strain of the abuse. Storm clouds have covered
the sky and darkened out the moon. Torrential rain is falling, and the wind is
howling.
You are
the only person in the rowboat, holding tightly to the sides of the boat so you
will not be flung into the sea. Getting
drenched by the cold seawater, you don’t know how long the boat will be able to
stay afloat.
Trying to
scan the boat for a life jacket, but the pelting rain blurs your visions. The
waves are getting bigger, and the wind is blowing fiercer. The wind and the torrential rain muffle your
screams for help. It is a place of total
helplessness.
Every time
lightning lights up the sky, you scan the horizon for any sign, for hope. Yet, all you can see is the storm. There is nothing out there but rough
seas. With each passing moment,
helplessness overwhelms.
It is only
a matter of time before the boat capsizes or breaks in two, not knowing what
you will do if that happens. The one thing that you do know, if you don’t find
safety quickly, you are going to drown.
A large
wave crashes over the bow the boat, and the little boat is flipped and
splinters into the sea. Flying into the ice-cold water, and flailing your arms
trying to stay above water. It is now a
matter of moments. If you don’t drown, you will freeze to death.
“SOMEBODY,
PLEASE HELP ME! I don’t want to die alone,” crying out with the strength that
you have left.
“Nobody is
here for you. You are all alone,” A voice says in the dark.
Sinking
under the wave and coming back up again, it won’t be long now. You have no more
strength to fight. The sea is going to
claim you. You don’t want to die, but
you don’t see any solutions.
Then, for
a moment, you think that you see a little light. A hopeful, last-ditch mirage? However, the light is there, and it is
brighter now. You are too far from land
for it be a lighthouse. The light is getting brighter, and it is coming right
at you.
There is
hope. Someone has seen you, and you are not alone. They need to get to you post haste. You are so tired of kicking and fighting for
life. Knowing that someone is coming your direction, you muster up enough
strength to flail her arms to get their attention.
The light
is now shining right on you. Someone has seen you and knows that you are in
trouble. They are coming to help. One big wave crashes over you, once again
pulling you under the water. You begin to sink into the depth of the sea. The force pushing you down is more powerful
than the energy that you have left to propel you to the surface.
As you are
about to be claimed to the sea, you feel fingers wrap around your wrist. The
grip is tight, and you feel the strength as they are pulling you closer to the
surface. A sense of relief fills
you.
You know
that you are being saved from the depths.
There is a strong tug and you figure that you are almost at the
surface. Your lungs are burning for air. Yet there will be air to breathe. Just a few more inches. Reaching the surface,
you inhale all the oxygen you can, and then …sit up in bed.
The sheets
on your bed are all in disarray. You are
still trying to catch your breath. You are drenched with sweat, but… you are
safe in your bedroom at home. The storm is only in your dreams.
“When
you’re in over your head, I’ll be with you. When you’re in rough waters, you
will not go down.” Isaiah 43:2 (MSG)
Yes, it
was only a dream, but how many of us are sinking in the storms of life? For
many of us, this is a real thing. The storms of life have capsized us. We feel that the force pushing us down is
stronger than our own strength.
We have
all been there. Even when we are walking
with Christ, the storms of life will arise and capsize us. Think about the disciples. They physically walked with Christ every
day for two years. Yet, they endured the
storms of life, and sometimes started to sink.
Jesus said
to them. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be Afraid.” Matthew 14:27 (NIV)
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| Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash |
Got to
love Peter. He was seemingly fearless in
certain areas. Matthew 14:22-37 tells
the story of the disciples in the boat.
“Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them
and they were battered by the waves.” (Matthew 14:24 MSG) They were in the
storms of life, literally.
Jesus
appeared to them. Of course, that
freaked them out. Who wouldn’t be
freaked out by someone walking on water towards them? I know I would.
He says,
“Calm down, it is me.” Then good ole
Peter says, “Lord, if it really is you, call me to come to you on the water.”
Jesus answers, “Come on.”
Can you
picture it? Peter jumps out of the boat
onto the top of the water. The waves are
still hitting the boat, and the wind is still whipping, but Peter just sees
Jesus. He is unaware, and all He sees is
Jesus.
I can
picture him sauntering towards Jesus, then realizes that there is a storm all
around him. The wind and the waves are his focus now. He has lost focus of
Jesus.
He is so
caught up in the waves at his feet, and the wind around him. That is when he starts to sink, and all he
sees is the storm, and the water that is claiming him. As he is sinking, he turns his focus back to
Jesus. “HELP ME!” he says.
In the
Message, Matthew 14: 31, it states that Jesus didn’t hesitate. “He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, ‘Faint heart, what got into
you?” Can you see the picture?
First off,
Jesus didn’t hesitate. He saved Peter
first. Then He said to Peter, “What
happened, and why didn’t you have faith in me?”
Nowhere does Jesus say, “well, this is what you get for not keeping your
eyes on me.”
Living free in Christ, and having the
revival in us, does not mean that storms of life won’t come. It does mean that, with Christ, we know that
any storms that come in our life have no power against Christ. It means that
the force of Christ is stronger than the force of the storm that wants to sink
us.
How much freedom does that provide to you
and me? Yes, storms will come, life will
happen, but we are saved in Christ. That
is amazing news to us that can only see the storm.
Again,
Lord, do it again. Let the revival begin
again, and let it begin in me.
Poppa God,
We know that there will be storms of
life. There are things that will drag us
down into the dark waters. Sometimes it feels that the force of the dark is
greater than our own strength. When we
lose focus of You and start to sink in that darkness, I thank You for not
hesitating and for grabbing our hand.
You pull us up. You don’t stand there and tell us, “I told you so.” You save us, and then You remind us that You
have got us.
Thank you
for the freedom in You. Thank you for Your saving grace. I praise You that You continue to remind us
that You will never leave or forsake us.
You are
mightier than anything that the devil can throw at us. The devil has ZERO authority over us, because
of YOU. YOU ARE GOD. You are our Rock,
our Savior, our Deliver, and our Redeemer.
Though the storms may come, we know that You
have us in Your grasp, and you won’t let us drown in the storms of life.
Thank you
for the revival that You want to start in each of our lives. Continue to knock on the doors of our hearts. I pray, “do it again, Lord, do it again,
and let it start with me.”
In Jesus
Name AMEN!
Laura
Maxson
