She desperately grasped for something to hold on to! The boat nearly tipped from the violence of the wind and the waves. Her tiny craft was pitching and swaying violently, almost like a roller coaster. She could hear the boards beneath her straining against the waves, and the pressure of the sea was like a vice trying to squeeze the boat into pieces. She tried to row and navigate these waters but this is beyond her. The waves had changed, and she couldn’t predict the next movement.
As the boat was tossed by the sea, she looked ahead and saw a monster wave forming and coming toward her; it was like nothing she had ever seen. Her heart was racing and all she felt was total panic. She had death-grip on the rudder in an attempt to navigate away from this pending doom, but she knew it is useless in these waters. As the monster wave crested, she knew there was nothing to do but scream out to her God.
2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
In sheer panic she braced for the worse by curling up on the soaked floor of her boat. She could not fight anymore. She had given up. She gave it all to God! And in that moment, the miraculous happened.
2 Samuel 22: 8-17 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them. And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
Her God showed up at the perfect moment in amazing fanfare! In this rescue, God was not quiet about his presence. He made it known that He was there with her. She could not miss it. She did not know how, but she was safe! She had been rescued by her amazing Lord!
I can think back to times in my life where, metaphorically I felt like I was in that boat being uncontrollably tossed around by life. In those moments the Lord has quietly intervened and helped me through the situation. He has given me moments of gentle comfort. However, there is another side to my Lord! He can show up in my situation in a flurry of fanfare and strength.
The Lord used these amazing passages to give me a glimpse of His power in my life. He is not some hidden mousy creature that that scampers in and out of my life. He is awesome, amazing and truly powerful—even when he is gentle!! However, I have to look to Him to harvest this power and presence in my life.
Psalms 119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Sometime life can feel like we are navigating treacherous and uncertain waters. We are not certain what our next step should be. We might feel alone in our struggle as we are surrounded by “ungodly men” that are discouraging and turning us in the wrong direction.
2 Samuel 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
We keep trying to tread water, but the waves of failure keep coming and covering us; pushing us to the bottom. When we surface, we are not certain which way to start swimming to reach safety. It is in these moments that God wants us to give the situation over to Him and allow Him to conquer the storm.
These storms in our life are not battles that we have the strength to beat. We have to reach out to Him. But, why is it when we face these storms that we wait to call out to God or He seems silent? In these situations, we might be looking for strength from other sources. It might be from ourselves or from others. We forget in our prideful display of effort, that only God can deliver us. Proverbs 31 warns a young man not to give away his strength to women. In essence, don’t place your trust in powers and people that do not seek your deliverance.
Proverbs 31:3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
It can be so easy to reach out to something tangible, but in doing so we may trust someone or something that diverts our trust away from the Lord. Our best strength comes when we give our strength over to the Lord and trade it in for His. Our best strength comes when we trust His ability to show up in our situation.
On the flip side, as Christians, we need to realize that there are those around us that, on the outside appear strong and confident, however on the inside they are being overtaken by the waves of life. We need to be sensitive to these situations and to the leading hand of God. He may need you to be the rescuer that appears on the scene just in time to perform a great rescue of the troubled soul.
Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching
Related Bible Passages:
2 Samuel 22
Psalms 119:113-128
Proverbs 31
Hebrews 10
Have a face to face conversation with your Lord:
Lord, have I faced a monster wave of distress in my life?
Lord, when I am distressed, what do I look to for strength?
Lord, how have you been present in my trouble to provide me with strength?
Lord, thank you for being present, strong, and powerful in my life. I love that you are my Lord and my God.
If you are interested in having a collection of these devotional conversations, consider purchasing the books. They are available from Amazon by clicking here.
Glory, Strength, & Beauty 