JESUS, SOVEREIGN OF THE SEA

JESUS, SOVEREIGN OF THE SEA

We are home from our travels on the east coast.  We had wonderful visits with children and grandchildren and took note of the life that they live in busy and crowded cities.  It is fun to get away on vacation but always wonderful to walk in the front door of your own home.  We had a long day of air travel, so getting back into town was special.

I watched people, sat in vehicle in stalled traffic, and hit the shops and tourists areas.  I always wonder about the crowds around me.  How many know Jesus as their personal Savior?  How many spent time in prayer that day and read their Bible?  I saw sad faces, happy faces, and people in a hurry to get places.  And I again realized that people need the Lord.  We live in troubled times, and I wonder how people can walk through great struggles without Him.  Do they know that He calms the raging storms?  Do they know He quiets the waves of sorrow?  Oh, to be able to tell the world about my Jesus!

And then there was the sea, the great Atlantic Ocean, just within walking distance of the house we were staying in.  Some days it was sunny, other days the waves were choppy, and the wind was blowing.  But the waves rolled in upon the shore.  And there were the people under their umbrellas in their chairs enjoying the sea breezes.  One day, just out past the waves the dolphins were running and we could just view their tails as they swam.

But as I recall our ocean visit, I compare it to our walk, as we journey through life and especially as we journey with Jesus, as we travel onward towards “Home.”  Life gets rough.  Sometimes the waves will threaten to drown us in our pain.  But read the words of this old hymn and realize that Jesus is the “Mighty Sovereign of the Sea.”

JESUS, SAVIOUR, PILOT ME

Jesus, Saviour, pilot me over life’s tempestuous sea; unknown waves before me roll, hiding rock and treach’rous shoal; chart and compass come from Thee:  Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

As a mother stills her child, Thou canst hush the ocean wild; boist’rous waves obey Thy will when Thou say’st to them, “be still”; Wondrous Sov’reign of the sea, Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

When at last I near the shore, and the fearful breakers roar ‘twist me and peaceful rest, then, while leaning on Thy breast, may I hear Thee say to me, “Fear not, I will pilot thee.”  (Edward Hopper /John E. Gould)

There are many of you in great trials right now.  The waves roll, and there are treacherous days before you.  But direction comes from Jesus, as He pilots our ship.  When the waves roll in, and I feel like I am drowning, I want Him at the helm of my ship.  I know some who are experiencing “troubled seas” right now.  We have a very dear loved one who continues to battle brain struggles after brain cancer and surgery.  Oh, she loves Jesus, but she knows who pilots her ship!  Oh, Praise the Lord!

I know of another person with cancer, who the doctors say that she will be gone by Christmas.  I don’t know the spiritual condition of this lady, and only God knows her heart.  All I can do is pray that Jesus is her pilot on the troubled sea she is traveling right now.

I am reminded of when Jesus walked on this earth, and His disciples experienced the boisterous waves and the “Mighty Sovereign of the Sea.”

“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8:23.

We see the disciples frantic with fear as their boat was covered with waves, and Great Creator Himself, the One who created the sea and those waves is asleep.  He was in total control of the situation, but He questioned their faith.  But all He had to do was rebuke the winds and the sea and everything was calm, and the disciples were amazed and filled with awe.

This is our Wonderful Lord who calms the wind blowing out on the sea of life, and the great waves become calm.  We don’t understand the “whys?” of situations that blow across our path, but Jesus is there to bring peace and calmness in the midst of the storms.

I was reminded of our Mighty Sovereign of the Sea as we were walking on the boardwalk along the ocean.  There we came to a huge grey statue called “Neptune, god of the sea.”  There is only one God of the sea, as I shared with my husband.  Our God not only calms the wind and the waves, but our God walked on the water in Matthew 14:24-33.  Our God is alive and well, not a mythical god and not a god carved into a stone statue!

And someday, as we near the shore, He will be there to meet us, and take us into eternal glory with Him.  I am so glad the “Mighty Sovereign of the Sea” is the pilot of my ship, and I can depend on Him when my ship is rocking and the wind is boisterous.  And we, as His children, don’t have to fear when death comes, because He will be there to bring peace forever.  Oh, Praise His Holy Name!

I do pray that He will pilot your ship through life.  He died on the cross for you, and is waiting to take you into His arms and hold you through the storms that come.  Oh, let Him be your pilot today!

In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon