Wednesday’s Word

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

What’s Your Ocean?

Psalm 69:1-3: Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck! I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God!  

Wow, spring is here; Easter has come and gone, but the truth of what it all means remains forever! I’m so thankful for His death that brought us life! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith, and join me for a little break.

 When I first heard this portion of scripture from our pastor in a message, I giggled, quietly of course. But as the words settled in, they began to shape into meaning for me. See, as my sinus surgery date approached, these verses hit me over the head like a two-by-four -- well, maybe not that rough, but certainly the realization was as powerful, though nowhere near as harmful as getting hit over the head by a two-by-four! See, I have this issue and I’m a bit claustrophobic! The thought of waking up with my nose packed sends me out there, to another phobia, the waves of an unrelenting ocean. One terror chasing another!

Now, you may be saying, quit being so dramatic, but hear me out on this because these God-breathed, Spirit-inspired words penned by David have a purpose: to be used as a life preserver when we feel like we just can’t stand anymore because life has become like an ocean, overwhelming us with waves of trials and challenges too big for us to withstand, let alone swim through.

Do I have your attention yet?  Have you ever had to face something that you just didn’t know how you were going to face? Perhaps there’s a wave coming and you’re trying to run from it.  Ask the woman who’s just discovered her significant other has been cheating on her, lying to her, or the patient just told they have cancer; or the one who has just received a notice of foreclosure in the mail. Let’s face it; life is like an ocean, taking us to unseen places, places without borders per se, as the waves of life knock us to and fro.

But what would it look like if we could just determine in our soul to just try and stand in what feels like sinking sand, our hand in His, maybe gripping it really hard, but still, our hand in His, and as the wave came toward us, we cast the white flag of surrender up and in our fatigue, our eyes and souls exhausted from crying out in fear, we just lean in…to Him and really experience the beauty of trusting that He will save us, and pick us up if He has to, to carry us through that wave of a circumstance, and once again, set us down…on solid ground.

Abba, I want to trust you like that…I am claiming that you will not only guide the surgeon’s hands as he drains fluid close to my brain, reconstructs the deviated septum, but you will do surgery on my terror, removing it from my being.

What about you; what would you like Him to save you from? What circumstance or challenge is rising up to your neck? What has you weary and crying?

Evinda