Have you ever watched a movie in which the people were in a boat on a stormed tossed sea? You know, the boat is rolling back and forth, the people are panicked and crying, they fear that they may not survive. Sometime the boat sinks and there are only a few survivors.
Well lately, that's how my life has felt. Well to be honest, that's how my life has felt for the last 2 years. The storms just keep raging, the boat is being rocked and tossed about, and its falling apart, very slowly its sinking. That's how I have felt, and let me tell you, its not fun.
I sometimes wonder where is my faith, where is the optimist I have always been, where is my joy? I feel like it gets harder and harder to keep my head above water. Battered on all sides by life. It would be really easy to slip into old habits, to things that are comfortable or my old coping mechanisms, but I know that is not the answer. I know that by doing so, I will only find misery.
I want to feel that joy, that deep abiding love, that faith that could move mountains, but where? Where do you find light in the deepest darkest night? Where do you find hope when all seems hopeless? When you feel like you don't have a single friend in the world and no matter where you turn, your trapped?
Just like on a ship, you must turn to the Captain. The person who knows the ship better than anyone else. Not only does He know the ship, He loves the ship and would give up His life to save it. That's who my Jesus is. He is the Captain of my life. I sometimes get so caught up in the storm, I forget that He, not I, am in control. He has maneuvered through all kinds of stormy seas. He has guided it through the rocks and many other obstacles. He has never abandoned His ship, no matter how bad the storm might have gotten.
When I remind myself of this, that he is the most important person on the ship, than I can know peace. I can know a peace that surpasses anything I might think I know or understand. He can say to the stormy waters, "Be still," and the waters will calm instantly. Its so amazing when I just put all my faith in Him, not in man, or anything in the world. There is nothing in this world that could give me the comfort I have in Him.
My disappointments only prove that I can't put my faith in any man. Man is flawed and will always fail you. It may not even be something they mean to do, but never-the-less, it will happen. When I try to put my faith in any person, I set that person up to fail me. They don't mean to hurt or disappoint me, but they are not prefect and so I should never expect them to be.
So it is now that I turn to Him. This storm that has been raging in me has become to big. I have so focused on the storm, that I have forgotten the promise He gave me. A promise for my life to have a peace and to prosper. That doesn't mean that there won't be storms. Storms are just a natural part of life. But it does mean that in every storm, I have a Captain who knows His ship. Knows how to control the ship and keep it safe. I know that even if the ship sinks, He is right there with it. Right there with me.
No matter how bad the storm in your life may be, don't lose hope, or despair. The Captain is in control. He will always guide you safely home. He will always calm the storm in me.
