Midweek: On Great Waters

Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
They see the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.

~ Psalm 103:23, 24

The privilege to see --perhaps even, the ability to see my Savior at work, comes with being in peril.

Does that sound radical to you? a little crazy? It might just be but read The Beatitudes some time. They turn the customs and tenets of this world completely on their head. Likewise, the truth that trouble when placed in the hand of a faithful and sovereign Deliverer is a blessing, a gift, a privilege.

How can we see the Great Physician at work if we or our loved ones are never ill? How can we learn to pray mighty prayers if we are given no reason to do so? How do we learn to be grateful in every circumstance if, in every situation we encounter, gratitude is a natural reaction? How do we see the depth of God's provision if we believe our sustenance comes from any other source? How does our faith increase if we never experience the unknown? How do we learn to suffer well if we never suffer at all? How do we grieve with hope if we never have cause to grieve?

We endure these things --not as victims, for we are more than conquerors! And as we endure, we are witnesses. We see firsthand what others throughout history --biblical history included --have seen. We gain a front row seat to the character of God, to His power, to His will being done --despite the ugliest of circumstances --on earth as it is in heaven. As those who venture out onto the deep, with little to buffer us but a flesh and bone vessel which is itself wind-whipped and wave-driven, we bear witness to the perfecting activity of our Father and Creator in all exploits --terrifying and terrific --for His glory and our good.

Thanks be to God whose love can never be separated from His people! 

You Can't Control It and You Shouldn't Try

Retirement has not been what I expected. It has been busier and livelier without my industry than I ever anticipated. As a result, I don't have time to explore those questions from Scripture that have picked at me so. One such question is with regard to Noah and Abraham. Both were forewarned of an impending doom; Noah, the entire earth, and Abraham, two cities. Abraham went to bat for those cities, pleading with God that, if there were to be found ten righteous men, God would not destroy them. Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. That's what Scripture says. No pleading, no bargaining; Noah obeyed without, so it seems, putting forth any effort to stop the course of God's judgment. Why the difference? And what does that teach us? As I said, I've not had opportunity to really examine either of the accounts with answers to those questions in mind, but I can tell you what I've been learning.

Sometimes, human beings can stay in grief. Sometimes, human beings can choose to fixate on the sickness. Sometimes human beings can lock eyes with whatever disaster has befallen them and remain there. None of that is good. But, in my humble opinion, the greatest victory one can hand the enemy is believing we possess some sort of control over outcomes. While adversity comes upon us, upending our lives for a time and, in some cases, causing us to never realize the good God wishes to work in and through us, the need for control paralyzes us even before the trouble comes. It leaves us exactly where we are, unwilling to let go long enough to learn or do anything. I can't let my adult children fail. I can't bear to see the shelter close. I can't lose my mom. I can't let someone else have the position I've worked to get. I can't allow the bill to go unpaid. But what if you could? What if you did?

Noah said, Okay, and grabbed a hammer. And, while Abraham chose more preventive means, his bottom line was, If this condition does not exist, Thy will be done. Even the Apostle Paul, suffering from "a thorn in his side," prayed three times for God to remove it; when his request was denied, he moved on. So be it. 

So many things go wrong without warning, and what do we do? Go through it. When trouble descends suddenly, we trust God. We fall on our faces, call our prayer warriors, fast, open our Bibles; we supercharge our spiritual lives. But what of those troubles that creep? Like an approaching storm, we see them coming, and we begin our work. We manipulate, reschedule, and solicit information from every corner of the internet. We take a job we weren't told to take, babysit an adult we should surrender to prayer, worry and exchange our joy for some version of disciplined religiosity that will help us curry favor with the God who controls everything. We say and do anything to keep alive an entity or relationship God wants gone (at least for a time). Perhaps the greatest gift God can give us is the blindsided nature of tragedy; perhaps the greatest test is the subtle creeping in of difficulty. Will we allow God to do what it is He is wanting to do? Will we allow God to be God, and still worship Him anyway? Will we surrender our agenda that God might bring triumph from tragedy? Are we willing to step aside and cede the control we never had for the glory God wishes to give?

Photo Courtesy Rich Harmon