A Child's Wisdom

My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by hurricane Sandy. I pray that God will give you the strength and the means to make it through this trying season and, despite your suffering, show you that there is a brighter tomorrow.

I composed this post four years ago, but its content is relevant for these times. I trust that you will be blessed by it.

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My seven-year-old granddaughter looked out the window at the swaying trees, driving rain and darkened landscape, and uttered these words: "Tomorrow will be a sunny day." I remembered this remark when, about half an hour later, the clouds lifted, the pounding rain became a drizzle and the trees were still. What wisdom from a child's lips!
Her words led me to think about the storms of life. They come in all their fury, with little or no warning, scaring us, reducing us to trembling shadows of our former selves, and then, they are gone. We breathe a huge sigh of relief. Why were we afraid? Why did we worry?

It's only natural. The human mind reacts strongly to any kind of stimuli to which it is unaccustomed. We crave the familiar comforts of everyday life. We do not want anything to disturb the normal rhythm of our existence. But what is normal? Is it never having dark, gloomy days and stormy nights? Is it always rising with the sun and trying to outdo the birds with our singing? Is it always having our eggs done exactly right and finding the right pair of socks?

I think not. Life comes at you fast, to quote a modern cliche. Lightning flashes out of a clear blue sky, the postman brings a packet that you want to hurl out the window, a telephone call sends your world spinning. Life comes at you fast. Storms happen. Your boat threatens to overturn. And Jesus is asleep. You wake Him up. He comes. "Peace, be still," He says-and peace returns.

It's that simple? Well, almost. First you must have Him in your boat. If you have someone else, it may not work. Then, you must stay close to Him. During the storm my grandchildren put away their books, play stations, everything and huddled close to me. That's what you do when the storms strike. Draw near to Jesus, and tomorrow will be a sunny day.

Call on Jesus

Image via Wikipedia

Three of the gospels relate the incident of a storm that arose at sea. They tell us that the ship in which Jesus and His disciples were travelling filled with water. Now when I read this story, images from the movie Titanic flash through my mind. The surging waters, the rocking of the ship, the look of terror on the faces of the passengers. I am sure this boat was no Titanic, but whatever its size, it was in trouble. And these seasoned seamen felt helpless.

I have been on a few cruises in my lifetime and will soon be going on another. I remember one cruise when the waves were so high they seemed level with our cabin window. And how that boat rocked! I admit, I did feel a bit scared. But the thought of water actually flooding the ship never entered my mind. If it had, I might have fainted from fear. So I sympathize with these men, even though they may have all been professional sailors.

But the Scriptures say that they went to Jesus who was sleeping like a baby somewhere in the ship and woke Him up with the words, "Master, master, we perish" (Luke 8: 24). Jesus got up, rebuked the winds and the waves and, of course, the atmosphere became as quiet as the night before Christmas. Some people say the disciples should have had more faith. Jesus Himself said to them, "Where is your faith?" (V 25). But I don't think Jesus scolded them because they woke Him up. I think He scolded them because they were afraid.

When your ship fills up with water, when you are in a storm, Jesus expects you to call on Him, but you needn't feel afraid or helpless. Because "our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber" (Psalm 121: 2-3). In Psalm 91: 14 God says, "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him."

Over and over in the Bible God invites us to call on Him when we are in trouble. If we don't, we may be calling on someone or something else, and that is idolatry. We cannot, need not, face the storms alone. We have "an anchor (our faith) that holds and grips the solid Rock" in the time of storm. Take comfort from this fact.