September 08, 2021
In the Depths of the Storm
Winds and waves I wish you were calm.
We are as weary as the master in the bow of the boat on that long ago day when the disciples
battled the mighty sea.
The boat quivers and quakes, shakes and shudders, winds howl! waves crash!
Thunder!
Lightning!
Water everywhere!
The wildness of the storm leaves the boat creaking and cracking. The wood begins to splinter
and snap.
It sounds like it is about to break apart. Sometimes….
sometimes it does!!!
And we fear that all is lost.
It feels that the storm will destroy us.
We cling to you like a shard of pine adrift in the wild sea.
"Hurry to help us!!" we cry!, barely grasping to a
fragment of hope.
A splinter of confidence in your mercy and your presence is all that remains as we lament in the
midst of so many circumstances beyond our control.
Flooding rains. Houses washed away. Dear ones carried into the eternal kingdom. Wars and
conflict. Hungry children. Broken hearts. Hardened hearts. Souls who wound each other. Power
grasping ahold and refusing to let go….
The winds howl! The waves roar!
Suddenly, a whisper echos through our soul….
"Peace.
Be still."
And we realize the Lord we thought was distant has been there in the muck, the mess, and the
mire all along.
"Peace.
Be still."
The winds and waves are real.
The exhaustion.
The bitter taste of tears.
The pain rippling through our bodies. The stress of the never-ending battle for justice.
The gasping for breath.
"Peace.
Be still."
We are not alone. Indeed we never were alone.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!?!" The Savior called out to heaven from the tree.
He was broken and tattered by the hardness of the world.
He felt it too, the one who calmed winds and waves, and held space with both the wounded and
the outcast. His anguished cry touches our hearts in the midst of the chaos.
"Peace.
Be still."
He has been there too, in that place where the Winds howl and waves crash. GOD IS WITH
US!!
Abandoned? Not at all!!!
The promises of the living word of God shelter us!
God's mercies are new every morning! God's tenderness draws us near! The spirit whispers
God's love in our hearts, and for a moment we pause, and we glimpse the truth of the words:
"NEVER will I leave you! NEVER will forsake you!"
The comfort is clear: We are not, nor will we ever be abandoned!!!
As we listen to the words of our precious Savior we say, "Amen, dear Lord! Amen!"
IT IS SO!
- Rev. Anna Robbins
Winds and waves I wish you were calm.
We are as weary as the master in the bow of the boat on that long ago day when the disciples
battled the mighty sea.
The boat quivers and quakes, shakes and shudders, winds howl! waves crash!
Thunder!
Lightning!
Water everywhere!
The wildness of the storm leaves the boat creaking and cracking. The wood begins to splinter
and snap.
It sounds like it is about to break apart. Sometimes….
sometimes it does!!!
And we fear that all is lost.
It feels that the storm will destroy us.
We cling to you like a shard of pine adrift in the wild sea.
"Hurry to help us!!" we cry!, barely grasping to a
fragment of hope.
A splinter of confidence in your mercy and your presence is all that remains as we lament in the
midst of so many circumstances beyond our control.
Flooding rains. Houses washed away. Dear ones carried into the eternal kingdom. Wars and
conflict. Hungry children. Broken hearts. Hardened hearts. Souls who wound each other. Power
grasping ahold and refusing to let go….
The winds howl! The waves roar!
Suddenly, a whisper echos through our soul….
"Peace.
Be still."
And we realize the Lord we thought was distant has been there in the muck, the mess, and the
mire all along.
"Peace.
Be still."
The winds and waves are real.
The exhaustion.
The bitter taste of tears.
The pain rippling through our bodies. The stress of the never-ending battle for justice.
The gasping for breath.
"Peace.
Be still."
We are not alone. Indeed we never were alone.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!?!" The Savior called out to heaven from the tree.
He was broken and tattered by the hardness of the world.
He felt it too, the one who calmed winds and waves, and held space with both the wounded and
the outcast. His anguished cry touches our hearts in the midst of the chaos.
"Peace.
Be still."
He has been there too, in that place where the Winds howl and waves crash. GOD IS WITH
US!!
Abandoned? Not at all!!!
The promises of the living word of God shelter us!
God's mercies are new every morning! God's tenderness draws us near! The spirit whispers
God's love in our hearts, and for a moment we pause, and we glimpse the truth of the words:
"NEVER will I leave you! NEVER will forsake you!"
The comfort is clear: We are not, nor will we ever be abandoned!!!
As we listen to the words of our precious Savior we say, "Amen, dear Lord! Amen!"
IT IS SO!
- Rev. Anna Robbins
