He calms the troubled waters of my soul.
Some years ago, I painted a landscape I titled, “The Sands of Time” It depicted a farmhouse, barn and a few discarded items on the property. All abandoned. It was based on a mind picture I had from a history class dealing with the Dust Bow in the 30’s. Nothing lived there anymore; it couldn’t survive the lack of water.
The contrast would be the rains that dump 10-12 inches in a few hours and many homes are swept away or crushed in a horrific mudslide or like the flashfloods that swept the Big Thompson Canyon in the 70’s in Colorado and killing 143 people with little warning. Few escape the devastation of that day.
Life is like that isn’t it? Our world runs fast and happy and then suddenly we are swept away into disaster. A power beyond of nature beyond anything we can prepare for. Whether we find the storm in our marriage, dealing with job stresses or family matters, we are often spun into a cycle we cannot seem to get ahead in.
Spiritually we find ourselves caught in the insane whirlpools of life with little recourse to escape either. David in the Psalms often cried out to the Lord to rescue him from his enemies. He recognizes that he is helpless to have victory unless the Lord makes an intervention, and the world has little to offer to give survival. In the darkest hours he looks to the Lord for deliverance from that which would take his life and his throne. He paid heavily for his sin and lost two sons as a result. One son at birth another on a quest to destroy his father.
We find ourselves caught in the same entrapments and question why. Some of our problems stem from drifting away from the Lord when things are good. Becoming careless in our worship and relationship, with the only one who can deliver us from ourselves.
Is it surprising that the problems we have are little different than of David’s time? Oh, the names are different, as well as the circumstances, but the issue at hand seems to be that we cannot survive without the infusion of the Lord’s presence in our lives.
The next time a storm comes, hang on to the one who will keep you and can calm the troubled waters of your soul.
Now, that’s a thought,
Love,
Pastor Mike!