Waterproof Your Boat

Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; they sink because of the water in them. Don’t let what is going on around you get inside you.

Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

As we approach election day, the volume of absurdity crescendos until it envelopes the important. I thought about this statement made by a Taoist Priest. “Chaos only exists for those who do not understand.” Chaos exists in the minds of those whose view is earthly and finite. The world can become a maddening, ever-changing, and endless pursuit of meaning. When you let the noise around you become the noise within you, you sink to fear, uncertainty, and despair.

Jeremiah 25:32, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil is going forth from nation to nation, and a great storm is being stirred up from the remotest parts of the earth.”

We have a God that loves us unconditionally. We have a God that wrote the story of our existence. We have a God that is both omnificent and omnipresent. When we start thinking that our future is in others’ hands, we have lost sight of what matters. Christians are not, and never will be, the victim of random chance or evil forces. Our environment maybe, but we will not.

When we allow worldly thinking to seep into our inner thoughts, we start to sink. When we allow the words of others to dictate our response, we begin to sink. When we rationalize our reaction based on the actions of others, we start to sink. When we let an earthly event poke a hole in the bulkhead of our existence, we sink.

Proverbs 1:27-29, “when disaster comes over you like a storm, when trouble strikes you like a whirlwind, when pain and trouble overwhelm you. Then you will call to me, but I will not answer. You will look for me, but you will not find me. It is because you rejected knowledge and did not choose to respect the Lord.”

I am starting to see the world differently. God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, made me His ark. The choice animals that I allowed in are; Christian friends, a welcoming church community, daily and weekly scripture readings, Bible study, and prayer. The Gospel is my bulkhead; bible verses are the caulk between the planks. The water will rise around me, but I will be safe.

Psalm 107:29, “He caused the storm to be still so that the waves of the sea were hushed.

In the middle of the tempest of life, I must fight the urge to open a window to take in a worldly view. In doing so, I may let water in. Do it enough times, and I start to sink. Life will rage on. There will always be another storm, but I must stay safe.

Matthew 8:26, “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”

Being safe is not becoming ambivalent to the world around us; it is about not letting that world become us. We serve the world with love and compassion as Christ serves us. We help individuals find the shipwright that builds boats that can never sink. Remember, it is not about changing the world; it is about changing the people in the world, one person at a time; when that happens, the world changes.

2 Corinthians 1:4, “who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Christ has built an invincible armada that no power on earth can destroy. We are indestructible as long as we do not let the water in.

Joshua 23:9, “For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.”