"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep... Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." — Psalm 107:23-24, 28-29
I was walking the seawall in Depoe Bay, Oregon yesterday, watching the waves do what they have done to those rocks for longer than anybody can count, and I came across a bronze plaque I wasn't expecting. It was dedicated to the sons and daughters of Depoe Bay, and it carried words attributed to the old explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, it read, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore. It is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all endeavors, to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown.
Underneath those words was a name. Richard Taunton, 1954 to 2006. I don't know his story. I don't know if he was a fisherman who never came home from a bad squall, or just a man who loved that town and the sea it sits on. But somebody who loved him thought those words fit his life well enough to cast them in bronze.
I stood there a good while thinking about that phrase, iron will. Because here's the truth, none of us gets a vote on whether storms come. The fishermen of Depoe Bay didn't get to decide whether the Pacific would turn ugly that day. And you and I don't get to decide whether the diagnosis comes back bad, or the marriage falls apart, or the job disappears out from under us. Storms are not optional in this life.
What is optional is whether we stay ashore.
The Psalmist knew something about sailors and storms. He wrote about men who go down to the sea in ships and see the wonders of the Lord in the deep. Then the wind rises, the waves mount up, and the sailors stagger like a drunk man, at their wit's end. And what do they do? They cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distresses. He makes the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
That's not a story about tough men gritting their teeth alone. That's a story about desperate men crying out, and a God who answers.
I think that's the real difference between the courage the world sells us and the courage the Bible offers. The world says, summon your iron will and conquer the unknown by yourself. The Bible says, you were never meant to face the unknown by yourself to begin with. The same God who commands the wind and the waves is the one you cry out to when the storm hits.
So if you're staring down some shadowy future tonight, some unknown you'd rather not sail into, take courage. Not the white knuckled kind that pretends the sea isn't dangerous. The kind that cries out to the One who can make the storm a calm and bring you to the harbor He has already prepared.
Let's pray. Father, thank You that You are never surprised by our storms and never far off when they hit. Give us courage to leave the shore when You call us, and give us the wisdom to cry out to You the moment the wind rises. Bring us safely to the harbor You have prepared for us. In Jesus name, amen.
#RTTBROS #Nightlight #Courage #Faith #TrustGod #DepoeBay #Oregon #BibleWisdomDaily #ChristianWisdom #PracticalBiblicalWisdom
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Reflection Questions:
1. What shadowy future or unknown are you facing right now that tempts you to stay ashore?
2. Where is the line for you between white knuckled self reliance and genuinely crying out to God?
3. Can you recall a time God made a storm calm in your life? How does remembering that shape how you face the next one?
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