Posts Tagged ‘Psalm 107’

Fear and the Storms of Life

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

What’s with the fear issue? Seems that’s all I read about when I open my Bible these days. Maybe God’s trying to tell me something, ya think?

Yesterday I read about sailors whose ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged to the depths. These men cringed in terror, reeling and staggering like drunks. The storm drove them to their wits’ end where they cried, “Lord, help!”

And He did. “He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!” (Psalm 107:26-30).

Several years ago I wrote a “Drama in Real Life” story for Reader’s Digest. I interviewed two men who’d survived a fishing boat accident off Vancouver Island. My blood ran cold as they described the storm they’d encountered at sea – howling winds and frigid waves that towered several stories high, tossing their boat like a bathtub toy and eventually sucking it beneath the water’s murky depths. The men’s terror matched the sailors’ fear as expressed in the Psalms. So did their cries for help.

It’s not only sailors at sea who experience storms that leave them at wits’ end. Landlubbers do, too – homemakers, office professionals, clergy, teachers, nurses, students, single moms….the list goes on indefinitely. I know several women my age and younger who are battling end-stage cancers right now. I know others who are reeling from marriage breakups or staggering under the weight of their kids making lousy choices with lifelong consequences. They’re at their wit’s end and crying, “Lord, help!”

And He does. Sometimes He calms the storm immediately; sometimes not. But regardless of the wind and waves of our circumstances, He can calm the storm that rages in our minds and our emotions.

The enemy of our souls wants to keep us entrenched and immobilized by fear. But God wants to fill us with courage, to calm our anxious thoughts, and to set us free from fear’s power. Every time I feel afraid, I call, “Lord, help!” I remind myself that His love for me never fails. I find courage in remembering His faithfulness to me in the past, and I find peace in reciting truth such as, “God has promised to never leave or forsake me, and He’s bigger than any storm I will ever encounter.” My circumstances might not change immediately, but I experience a blessed stillness within.

Have you experienced a storm in life? If not, I want to know your strategy for storm evasion. If so, how did you survive?

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A Two-Word Prayer

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

I’m glad God doesn’t care if our prayers are eloquent. Frankly, sometimes I’m too tired to utter beautifully composed words. Sometimes I’m too perplexed to know even what words to use. The best I can muster is “Lord, help!”

The Israelites often felt the same way. Check it out:

  • Psalm 107:4-7 – “Some wandered in the desert, lost and homeless. Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died. ‘Lord, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.”
  • Psalm 107:10-14 – “Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, miserable prisoners in chains. They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one helped them rise again. ‘Lord, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.”
  • Psalm 107:17-20 – “Some were fools in their rebellion; they suffered for their sins. Their appetites were gone, and death was near. ‘Lord, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He spoke, and they were healed – snatched from the door of death.”
  • Psalm 107:23-30 – “Some went off in ships, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas. He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves. Their ships were tossed to the heavens and sank again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. ‘Lord, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!”

The people cried, “Lord, help!” Their words were neither poetic nor well planned. They were a simple plea, an acknowledgement of their need for God. How did He respond? He rushed to their rescue and met them at their deepest point of need. He led the lost and homeless to a city where they could live. He set the prisoners free. He saved those who were suffering consequences for their sins. And for those struggling to survive a storm, He stilled the waves and brought them safely to the harbor.

“Lord, help!” – two words that set almighty God to action on behalf of those who acknowledge their need for Him. Amazing, isn’t it?

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