While on a cruise off the coast of Nova Scotia, my wife and I experienced a tense night on the North Atlantic with a strong wind and a high sea. Though our ship was very large, yet it swayed and pitched, making it difficult for us to stand or walk without grasping a rail. As the wind howled, and the white capped mountains of sea water crashed against our vessel while we lumbered along in the darkness of night, I thought to myself how frightening it would be to be cast overboard into that turbulent sea! Considering the raging sea beneath us, I believe I could well imagine how terrifying it would be to be in a small sailing craft on such a sea. I could only imagine how terrifying it must have been for the ship’s company aboard that relatively tiny Alexandrian vessel described in Acts 27 during the days of their stormy peril so long ago. In verse 20 of that chapter we read: “And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” Of course, we on our large, modern ship were in no such danger, and our high sea did not nearly qualify as a Euroclydon; still, my imagination of what it must have been like to be in a wooden sailing ship on a stormy sea was made more real and vivid by the sound of the wind and waves roaring around me as I held tight to the rail to maintain my footing on our rolling deck.

My dear friends, I believe that Psalms 107 brings out the thought of God’s care and mercy for His dear children during the storms of life, and verses 23-32 liken such a storm to a tempest on the sea. It seems clear to me that the psalmist has the children of Israel in mind as the primary application of this psalm. And yet, certainly those of us today who are born again, we who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, can rejoice in our deliverance from our bondage to sin, and our salvation from the tempest of God’s judgment, which is a tempest far more serious than any on the sea! On another note, I believe that the children of God of any generation can see in this psalm how that God will sometimes allow His own to experience great trials. Is it not true that the Lord, in His wisdom and power, can turn to His own purposes even the great tribulations of this life and cause these to strengthen our faith in the God who alone is our salvation? Thus, I believe that in these 9 verses of Psalms 107, we see the works of the Lord in the lives of His children mapped out in the most descriptive terms!

Beginning in verses 23 and 24 we read: “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.” When I think of these two verses in the context of our current times, I am reminded that true believers can see by faith the wonders of God in His mercy and faithfulness during even the most disagreeable circumstances. Come what may in this world, we learn by experience that our God is in full and complete control of all the forces of nature, bringing about the raging storm, and then calming the wind and seas according to His divine purposes. In verse 25 we read: “For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.” How often have we heard of storm surges wiping out whole towns, and of earthquakes, forest fires, and landslides. And why does He allow such stormy times in the lives of His children? I believe that God uses these situations to bring before mankind our weakness and our need of God, hopefully causing men to look to the Lord for salvation: 26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end,” (Psalms 107:26,27). God knows how to draw people to Himself, and perhaps often this might involve bringing some to their wit’s end, so that they call upon the name of the Lord for their salvation. In Acts 27, the wind and the sea were angry and threatening in the extreme, such that after doing all they could to maintain the integrity of the ship, the ship’s company had come to be without hope. But Paul was able to comfort his shipmates with the certain Word of the God of mercy who alone can truly save. Thus we read in Acts 27:25: “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” Going on in Psalms 107:28-30 we  read: “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. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their desired haven.” By the very Word of God, all were delivered to land, without a ship, and perhaps a bit bruised, but all alive!

My dear Christian friends, perhaps you have been experiencing a very troubled time recently. If a storm at sea can be a frightening thing, so also might be our voyage on the stormy seas of life! Perhaps you have been hearing the howling winds and looking at the high waves around you, all threatening to swamp you in an angry sea of troubles. The Bible does not promise that our lives will always be spared, nor can we expect our trials to melt away like a Spring snow. Indeed, we shall experience trials in this life, and often enough, these might persist even though we pray long and hard. The Lord Jesus tells us in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Take heart, my dear Christian friends! While in this world, we may be tried, and our physical bodies might even suffer death. But, the children of God are never alone, and God’s loving hand is on you (Psalms 139:9,10). In Matthew 28:20 we read: “…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.) The God of the universe knows your dangers and your fears, and He is only a prayer away! And, always remember that believers on the Lord Jesus Christ have an inheritance in heaven that cannot be lost, come what may in this life: “…an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” (1 Peter 1:4). Glory is before us, my dear believers, whether we suffer or even perish while in this fallen world. Like the Apostle Paul of old, we can believe God’s Word and have His peace, even during the tempests of life!

But now, dear friend, what if you are not yet a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ? If this is your case, it might be that you are finding this life to be cruel and without meaning or hope. I pray you, consider the Words of our Lord Jesus in John 10:10: “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Blessings to all,

Steven J. Faulkner