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We stand secure in the storms of life when we stand on Christ.
I’ve had the experience of traveling to both the East Coast and the West Coast of the United States and dipping my toes into the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is an exhilarating experience to know that you are surrounded by a body of water that stretches farther than the eye can see.
Some days the waves come crashing into shore, throwing themselves against the rocks, the spray going everywhere. The wind is whipping your hair to and fro; you’re holding onto your hat lest it blow away in the gale. These are the days the ocean is mighty, strong, and fierce.
But on other days the waves are slower, calmly rolling onto shore, lazily lapping circles around your ankles. The sun is shining brightly, the birds are calling to one another, and the ocean breeze softly kisses your face. You can imagine it, right? A perfect day at the beach, and all seems right in the world.
These two images are as different as night and day, each overwhelming in its own way. Isn’t the same concept found in our own lives? We have days when all is well in the world and nothing can bring us down from cloud nine. But other days we are thrown back and forth like a boat on the sea.
Jesus often uses water imagery. This makes sense because the fishermen he called as disciples lived and breathed life on the water; their livelihoods depended on the catches of fish they brought in by their nets.
Amidst the trials, our Savior stands firm for us.
One of the most famous biblical accounts involving water is of Jesus walking on water, proving himself as both God and man. Just as life’s waves of doubt and unbelief strike us when we are unprepared, this storm caught the disciples unaware. They saw Jesus walking on water and were terrified. Peter took a bold step. He asked Jesus if he could walk on the waves too. But you know the story. “When he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ ” (Matthew 14:29,30).
Aren’t we just like Peter? We think we are strong enough to do everything on our own to prove our worth but flail when a little wind blows. Then we sink.
Yet amidst the trials, our Savior stands firm for us. He catches us when we fall, picks us up, and reminds us he loves us and will guide us no matter how difficult the path. He reaches down from heaven with love and compassion because we are his children.
Nothing in life is certain. Circumstances roll in and out like the ocean’s tide. We can’t always stop or control things that come our way. Too often they are like the ocean’s tide. The waves of life can seem overwhelm-ing on days when nothing is going right. We feel as if we are swept away by despair, doubts, anxieties, and fears. These negative thoughts cloud our perspective and dim our hope.
But we can let God’s love, mercy, and promises flow over us. As the waves of sin crash relentlessly against our feeble human faith, let us take a stand on Christ, the solid rock, the relentless Savior who lets his power wash over us in love and forgiveness. We are renewed by Christ’s sacrifice and cleansed by his blood shed on the cross for us.
We can stand firm in his promise of salvation for it is most certainly true.
Author: Samantha J. Huebner
Volume 107, Number 5
Issue: May 2020
