“Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.  Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.  Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.  And now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You.”  Psalm 39:4-7

Last week I suggested to my wife that we go on a WaveRunner tour which we did.  To understand the significance of that statement, you need to understand that while I love going to the ocean, I’m not a fan of venturing very far out into the ocean.  When I do, I like it to be on a very large boat, e.g. cruise ships, ferries, etc. and I prefer to have land in sight at all times because, in a word, I’m fearful.  Specific fears are the creatures in the ocean that are likely to cause harm, large waves, storms, drowning and my own lack of experience to name a few.  On this particular day I chose to reign in my fears a bit.  The comforts were: I figured that given the area, land would be in sight most, if not all, of the time; trust in the guide’s knowledge and skill; trust that the WaveRunner would float properly and move across the water as intended; and I presumed that there was some safety in numbers.    As we were riding on the waves (sometimes at speeds greater than my comfort level) I was checking my insecurities which moved my thoughts to the ups and downs of life as they are often compared to waves on the ocean as well as Peter walking on the water and what that must have been like.  In addition to the task at hand and the scenery, it was the spiritual object lesson that occupied my mind and kept my fears at bay.

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”  (Isaiah 26:3)  As the close proximity of the shoreline gave me confidence while riding the waves, focusing on God and keeping an eternal perspective yields peace as we move through life.  When we look past the highs and lows of our lives, as well as the dangers and trials that we face, our confidence comes from what lies ahead…eternity with God.  No matter what we are called to endure, we have been assured by the One who is able that we will safely come to Him and abide with Him.  Nothing can thwart the plans of God and nothing can separate us from Him and His love for us.  That is our hope, that is our solace and that is our confidence.  It should bring us peace and provide an anchor in the storms of life.

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)  As I said, trust in our guide gave me comfort; specifically, I trusted that he: knew the area well enough to follow a good route and bring us safely back, had enough experience on the ocean that would avoid potential unnecessary risks, was watching the weather and would return to shore if it threatened us, would make sure that we stayed together, and would provide or call for help if there was a problem.  While these gave me some comfort, the fact that we had to sign a waiver recognizing that there were risks beyond his control forced me to accept that his ability was limited.  On the contrary, Christ is the perfect guide; He knows all things, He has all power, He has demonstrated His love for us and He knows us better than we know ourselves.  As the Good Shepherd, He not only leads us, provides for us, and protects us, but He also pulls us back when we stray and seeks us when we’re lost.  Furthermore, He intercedes on our behalf.  Like Peter, His guiding hand gives us confidence and strength.  How can we not both be drawn to Him and trust Him?  However, we must willingly follow and yield to His direction…not for His benefit, but for ours so that we can deepen our relationship with Him, grow in grace and share His gospel with those around us.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)  While the WaveRunner provided power to move us and got us where we needed to go, the steering could be difficult as waves hit at awkward angles.  In life, the power of the Holy Spirit provides the power to complete the tasks assigned to us, comforts us in our low points and helps interpret and guides us.  He nags at our conscience when we drift of course.  The more we sincerely draw near to God, the more the Holy Spirit fills us.  It moves us beyond ourselves to accomplish what God has ordained…things that we could not accomplish on our own.  In his book, Francis Chan refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Forgotten God” because we often take Him for granted and overlook His power working in and through us.  We must ever be mindful of Him and trust His leading.

“But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”  (1 Corinthians 12:24-26)  On the water, we were a handful of strangers coming together for one event.  In the little time we were together, there were hints as to those who cared for others and those who cared for themselves.  However, knowing that we were not alone helped abate any fears but it pales in comparison with the church.  The body of Christ is designed so that the members work together and meet the needs of each other.  By helping each other and spending time together, we deepen our relationships, encourage each other in our faith and testify to God’s goodness.  However, to enjoy this fellowship, we must interact.  We can’t just go sit in a service for an hour a week and expect there to be great fellowship and rapport.  We must engage, be transparent and trust in order to receive help; but we must also be quick to listen, slow to condemn and always love to effectively help others.  When we focus on our pain and merely emote, we are of no value, but when trust in the love of God and allow Him to mold us through our pain, we can become conduits of God’s grace to others as we help them endure trials that are similar to our own and encourage them as we testify to God’s goodness in our own lives.

Our excursion may have been an “unnecessary risk”, but it was living rather than watching life go by.  While our start was a tad tricky, I got used to using the WaveRunner and we had an enjoyable time…but unlike life, there were no significant problems or hurdles to overcome.  It was purely enjoying the pleasure of God’s handiwork…a few porpoises included.  But life isn’t that calm and serene.  There are times of peace and there are times of turmoil.  Peter was no novice with respect to the ocean.  He knew the risks of stepping out of the boat and he knew how unpredictable waves were.  However, he still stepped out.  It was his first test of faith, but he only sank when he looked in the wrong direction.  We can choose to live or we can choose to be “safe”.  We can choose to trust or we can choose to appoint ourselves judge and jury.  We can choose to grow or we can choose to emote.  We can choose to engage or we can choose to withdraw. We can choose focus on eternity and God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and allow Him to provide all that we need or we can choose to live within our own strength.  The former brings blessing while the latter allows us to sink into fear, frustration, self-pity, disappointment and resentment.  Like David, put your hope in God and allow Him to abate your fears and give you peace.

Live fixing your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Will