You are Safe in His Arms
I was thinking about our first cruise. I was so excited! The sun was shining and there was an excitement in the air as I listened to everyone chatter about what they wanted to see. It was a wonderful experience and yet it was a little scary. While on the open sea a storm arose. I had never been on cruise liner before in the middle of the ocean encountering a storm. I thought about how the disciples must have felt crossing the sea of Galilee which was known for its storms. (The Sea of Galilee is Israels largest freshwater lake, which has an abundance of fish and yet violent storms were normal.)
What made that night in the storm worse was my imagination. As I heard the dishes clanking on the lower deck from the rocking ship, I looked out the porthole into the black night, and felt the roughness of the ship as it rode the high waves. I must admit I was a bit nervous. I looked over to my husband and he was sound asleep. This reminded me of Mark 4:38 (ESV): “But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” In short, Jesus woke up, spoke to the situation, and the storm ceased.
With everything going on around me sleep was gone, so I got up to read His Word. When I opened my Bible, I saw a poem by Mary Stevenson titled ‘Footprints in the Sand.’ It’s about a person walking side-by-side with Jesus on the seashore. It was a sunny day, but then clouds overshadowed the sky, and a storm arose. The person became afraid because they could only see one set of footprints in the sand. In the end, the person realized that, during the storm, Jesus was carrying them.
Lesson: When challenging times arise in your life and it seems like Jesus is not there, remember He is carrying you through every situation. When you think He does not hear you, He does and readily calms the storm in your heart when you cry out to Him. The disciples came out of the trial with increased admiration of Christ. This was a great lesson for me as I thought to myself, “Gail you are in the arms of Jesus. Go to bed and go to sleep.” And I did just that. God is forever trustworthy.
I thank God for His Word. It’s simple to read and yet behind the words are great revelations of truth. God’s Word is simple, yet it is simply profound. Every believer is able to glean from the Bible. God will meet you where you are at and take you on a journey in the Word beyond your greatest expectations. And He will minister to you in so many ways to meet you where you are.
Heb 13:5 (KJV): “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Num 23:19A (NIV): “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”
What made that night in the storm worse was my imagination. As I heard the dishes clanking on the lower deck from the rocking ship, I looked out the porthole into the black night, and felt the roughness of the ship as it rode the high waves. I must admit I was a bit nervous. I looked over to my husband and he was sound asleep. This reminded me of Mark 4:38 (ESV): “But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” In short, Jesus woke up, spoke to the situation, and the storm ceased.
With everything going on around me sleep was gone, so I got up to read His Word. When I opened my Bible, I saw a poem by Mary Stevenson titled ‘Footprints in the Sand.’ It’s about a person walking side-by-side with Jesus on the seashore. It was a sunny day, but then clouds overshadowed the sky, and a storm arose. The person became afraid because they could only see one set of footprints in the sand. In the end, the person realized that, during the storm, Jesus was carrying them.
Lesson: When challenging times arise in your life and it seems like Jesus is not there, remember He is carrying you through every situation. When you think He does not hear you, He does and readily calms the storm in your heart when you cry out to Him. The disciples came out of the trial with increased admiration of Christ. This was a great lesson for me as I thought to myself, “Gail you are in the arms of Jesus. Go to bed and go to sleep.” And I did just that. God is forever trustworthy.
I thank God for His Word. It’s simple to read and yet behind the words are great revelations of truth. God’s Word is simple, yet it is simply profound. Every believer is able to glean from the Bible. God will meet you where you are at and take you on a journey in the Word beyond your greatest expectations. And He will minister to you in so many ways to meet you where you are.
Heb 13:5 (KJV): “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Num 23:19A (NIV): “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”