HomeWord - June 5, 2015

 The Ultimate Stabilizer

This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. —Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG)

For thousands of years, rolling and pitching due to rough seas plagued ships and the passengers onboard. Seasickness was a common symptom for travelers. Today, cruise ships are modern marvels. Take Royal Caribbean’s ship “Allure of the Seas” for example, which is the largest cruise ship afloat. It can carry some 6,400 passengers. At 1,187 feet long, it is only 63 feet shorter than the Empire State Building. As large as a ship like this can be, it is still vulnerable to the natural conditions of wind, weather and seas. Yet, all modern cruise ships have “stabilizers” onboard, which counteract the motion of the ship by changing the angles of underwater fins attached to the hull – making people who are prone to seasickness much more comfortable.

For all, the storms of life come. The rains fall when a loved one gets sick. The fierce winds blow when a friendship turns sour. The seas grow angry when an expectation you were counting on falls through. No one escapes life’s storms. When the storm rages in your life and you are struggling to keep your balance, do you have a “stabilizer” in your life that counteracts the effects of the trial you are undergoing?

Christ-followers have an ultimate stabilizer at their disposal – and it is called trust in God. As a ship’s stabilizer works to counteract motion (note that it doesn’t calm the sea!), trust in God works to calm our fears, even when the storms of life are at their strongest.

But, trust is active, not passive. Trust is not just a belief, but belief in action. Trust means that even though life doesn’t turn out the way we hope, we know that God loves us and is still with us. Trust means that even when we don’t see solutions to our problems, we are still certain that God keeps His promises.

Today, when a storm comes your way (for some a passing shower, for others a hurricane), I encourage you to choose to trust God. In trusting, God may not calm the storm, but I am confident that He will calm your heart.

GOING DEEPER:

1. What situations in your life remind you of being a ship tossed about at sea?

2. How could trusting God bring calm to your life in these situations?

FURTHER READING:

Psalm 20:7; Matthew 7:24-27; Hebrews 11:1

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