Riding Out Life's Difficulties

"He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed." - Psalm 107:29 NIV

If you're past the age of 10, you've probably already figured out that life is not free of challenges. Difficulties, pain in relationships, and even tragedies are part of every day life. As a matter of fact, Jesus told His disciples, "Take courage. There are many storms in this life. (Here's the good part...my emphasis added). But take heart, I have overcome the world." Wow. Now, that's a scripture to hang your hat on!

Whenever you face a storm, your first urge may be to scream, "Why?" Certain storms do come into our lives because of our own sin, but many challenges occur when we're right in the middle of God's will. We're not doing anything wrong. We're doing what God wants us to do. Certainly, that was the case for the disciples. Jesus told them to get into the boat and row across the Sea of Galilee. They were obeying Jesus when they suddenly found themselves in a horrific storm. It was so bad, they didn't even know if they'd survive. But here is the important message from that event - they did survive. With the help of Jesus, they survived.

Potholes

Anna Kuta, Crosswalk.com Editor

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5b

I was driving home late the other night, rolling down the winding, two-lane country road I’ve been down so many thousands of times I could probably drive it in my sleep. I had the radio turned up and one hand on the wheel, and then — CLUNK! Before I knew what was happening, my front right tire thudded through a gigantic pothole that came out of nowhere. The whole car jolted and I just knew a noise like that had to have done some damage.

“Oh, please don’t let me have a flat tire,” I said out loud. Cringing, I pulled over at the next road and worked up the courage to get out and look … and to my surprise, my tire was still intact. I stared at it for a few minutes, waiting until I was sufficiently assured that it wasn’t going to deflate in front of my eyes, and then I breathed a sigh of relief and continued my drive, albeit a good bit slower and more cautious this time.