Stormy Tuesday

Psalm 107:23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, 24 They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26 They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end. 28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. 29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 30 Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. 31 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32 Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.

The only way to understand the emotions humans experience in the approach of a dangerous storm is to live in a place where dangerous storms approach.

This past week, we all collectively experienced the same thing at the same time. We were all thinking the same sorts of thoughts. We were all in the run-up to the storm at the same time, we were all IN the storm at the same time, and we were all in the aftermath of the storm at the same time.

We are all closer to each other as a result of facing danger and potential difficulty together. In terms of human fellowship, there is nothing that draws us closer than going through the storms of life at the same time, with each other alongside. A shared sense of anticipation. A shared fear. A shared sense of relief afterwards.

This is what God had in mind in Psalm 107. We are, in a sense, “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters.” We could live somewhere else. God has called us to Naples, Florida. And so we collectively encounter what comes with life, “on the ships,” or by the seashore, if you will. There is an inherent danger in living here, just as there is an inherent danger in going down to the sea in ships. It goes with the territory.

But only those who go down to the sea in ships fully understand God’s care in the storm. You can’t read about it in the paper, or tell your friends in California about it. It must be lived and experienced. You can’t even read about God’s care in the Bible and truly understand what it means to be under God’s care.

And so those who “live on ships” see both the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. There is a power there which melts the soul because of the trouble, and there is a genuine crying out to the Lord which only takes place at such times. And then He guides them to His desired haven – which may even be Heaven. Only those who live on ships truly understand this.

- Pastor Bill