Encouragement

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“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” Psalms 18:16

There is a great difference in living a life and being alive. To be alive is to simply exist but to live a life is to enjoy every moment of life, to feel the beat of life, to make the best of every second and bask in the joy that living brings. To thank God at every Sunrise for a new day and be content in His love and grace at Sunset watch. To admire the beautiful nature around us and simply breathe in the breath of life. To let our hearts throb for our dreams and set our minds on our aspirations. To see the world as a stage and play our part with finesse for reality is the script and how we emote in life is the Original performance which is the best in the very first take itself.

Of course, life will never be a primrose path. We all face numerous storms which rock the boat of life. How we react to these storms is what determines whether we can weather the storm or not. Sometimes, we just stay put and allow the storms to batter us instead of facing it.

We have heard all too often about the incident when Jesus calmed the storm. But perhaps, we have not truly understood the significance of this event.
Firstly, it was not just the lack of the disciples' faith in spite of Jesus being in the boat with them that exasperated the Lord. But also, the fact that they too could have done the very same thing which our Lord did and that was to get up and rebuke the waves to be calm in the name of God and it would have obeyed them as well. This is what Jesus meant in John 14:12; “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

This is our main problem today that we do not reach out to the Lord. We do not express the desires of the heart. This is where we fail. If we ask the Lord for a small favor, He will grant us a greater blessing. Likewise when people reach out to us for a little love, a kind word or a gesture of affection, we should respond to them with a double measure of love, kindness, affection and warmth.

Jesus said in Luke 6: 30 “Give to everyone who asks you for something. If someone takes what is yours, don't insist on getting it back.” We also read in Luke 6: 30; “If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.” and in Matthew 5: 41; “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
We are also called to ask for anything in the name of our Lord and He will grant us our every wish as declared by Jesus in John 14:13; “ Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son”

There may be times when He is sleeping in the boat amidst the storm but He is fully aware of what is going on in our lives and just His presence with us is enough to know that the storm cannot topple our boat. He may take time to respond but He knows the right time better than we do. As long as our eyes are on Him, we can walk on beaten paths and yet triumph but the moment we become aware of our weakness and shift our focus from Him, we will be engulfed by the flood. When we reach out to Him, He takes hold of our hand in a firm grasp and we are safe in the middle of the storm.

Today, Is Jesus is in your boat? Ask yourself, this question. If He is, then you are truly living life to the fullest and no storm can mar your life.

Maria Franco

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