When we have put our trust in ourselves or others we will always be afraid, because we remember that in the past we have failed. But when we truly trust in Jesus Christ we will be courageous because we know that He can never fail!
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:9-10 NIV
Last night in a forgetful moment, I went for my walk around the neighborhood sans cellphone, wallet or keys. In fact, I didn’t even don a baseball cap to ward off the stray shower which in Florida, we are so prone to have. I breathed in deeply of the air, now clean from the recently ended heavy thunderstorms and cool by August standards as the sun had almost set. Then my mind turned back to my exploring days as a ten-year old out on a summer afternoon.
Then, I had no wallet, mainly because I didn’t own one. If I needed money for the Saturday matinee, Mom would slip me a quarter for the movies and if I was lucky, another dime to buy some popcorn. We kids didn’t even have Social Security numbers, and if anyone needed to know our identity, they just asked our parents. And of course, we had no cell phones. They weren’t even invented yet and even our house phones were pretty much reserved for adults. The most I ever got to say was, “Thanks for the swell Christmas present Gammy” and then, “Gotta go. Here’s my mom.” Maybe most amazing of all to our modern readers, I had no keys. Who needed them? Our house was never locked!
When we were out at the beach, the neighbor even sometimes stopped in to borrow an egg or a cup of sugar when she was baking a cake. No, our lives were far from perfect, but we possessed a treasure of trust that we didn’t even know we had and is now lost forever. We trusted that whatever we had was enough and that our parents knew who we were. We depended on our friends to get help if we got in trouble (which was pretty often) and we believed that we were safe enough to leave the house unlocked because the bad guys had been defeated in the war and now the good ones were in charge.
And God reminded me this morning that, though that world has disappeared forever, He has not changed. He always knows exactly what we need and will take care of us even in the farthest corner of the earth. And our true identity is safely hidden with Christ in God. Even when we forget, God remembers who He has made us to be. And last and best of all; God listens. When our cell phones go dead and the internet goes down, we stay connected to God. There is no place on earth where we need to ask, “Can you hear me now?” because He is with us always and forever. Finally, we must believe that the cross of Calvary has unlocked the door to God’s house and that it stands open for all who will come. He is always home. God is waiting for us to grow weary from play. He watches for us to come safely home with the assurance that we are welcome, we are expected, and that our place is set at Heaven’s dinner table for all who put their trust in Him!
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” Mark 4:35
Once a year my wife and I pack our bags and prepare for vacation. In the weeks leading up to our trip we buy a few things, get our suitcases out and make arrangements for everything we can think of. Our excitement builds as we imagine weeks of unfettered schedules and new experiences. Jesus is inviting each of us to prepare, and to be ready for new things. But His challenge contains a phrase we may have missed, Jesus said “Let’s!” That single word makes all the difference in our lives when we launch out to points unknown.
The “Let’s,” invitation of Jesus reminds me of a song we used to sing in Portuguese at our Brazilian church called, “Meu Barquinho,”. That title means “My Little Boat”, and my favorite part of the lyrics say, “Sail away with faith in Jesus, because this is the way we will see what beautiful things He will do, because with Him we will be secure.”
So, if your horizon seems forbidding and your boat seems so very small, remember that in your little boat travels the King of kings and the Captain of all ships. No matter the distance we have to travel or what storms we have to face, Jesus say’s “Let’s go!” because He plans to travel with us! Our Lord will never abandon our little boat and with Him we will be secure, and He will show us what beautiful things He can do!
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