Is God Sleeping or Wide Awake on Your Boat?

This may or may not be my last post related to fishing. The inspiration just keeps coming! It was Wednesday, May 29th, and we heard it was supposed to rain all day, starting at 7 am. Staci, fisher-woman extraordinaire, announced the night before, "If we’re down at the river by 6 am (sun-up), we’ll get in at least an hour of fishing before it starts. And, so, it was. We showed up at 6 am and at 7 am, no rain; 8 am to 2 pm – still no rain. It was an entire morning of hauling in loads of fish and, to boot, it was a morning of helping a young boy and his mom learn how to fish for trout. For lunch, we made a campfire and roasted hot dogs on dry tree limbs and logs. Thank you, God, for the “little things” – keeping the rain away for us to enjoy this morning. We were satisfied with our full morning and some of the afternoon. Go ahead, God, let it rain!

THEN, torrential rain came which made for great afternoon naps! All of us! By the way, we didn’t have access to wifi at our cabin so we weren’t aware of anything other than a good old downpour and thunder that makes for great snoozing! We all woke up when our electricity went out at 5 pm. Fortunately, we took plenty of flashlights and candles. Our plans for baking our lasagna were spoiled so we had sandwiches, guacamole, salsa, and chips. .Yummy -- no complaints! And, while the thunder rolled, lightning flashed, winds howled, and rain pounded on the roof, we, in our serendipity world….played cards – expecting any minute for the electricity to be restored.

The rain stopped. Larry and Staci and the kids headed out to see when our electricity would be restored because, by now, we started thinking about our refrigerator getting warm and the haul of food we had in there could be in jeopardy. The Park Ranger declared “There’s no electricity between here and Texas – we were just hit by a tornado! There is damage all around the park – trees down, RV’s damaged." WHAT??? And we weren’t warned?? Supposedly, the Park Rangers had been on their air horns announcing imminent danger – but again, in our little calm and peaceful “boat” – we were completely secure knowing Jesus was on board. It never entered our minds that there had been a potential danger.

On the other hand, what good would it have been to have known and been worried and concerned? We didn’t know and we played games, slept, ate and made it through the storm just fine. When we implicitly place our trust in He Who is on board our "life" boat – we can be at peace in any storm -- in the natural, and in our spirits.

I sincerely believe that when we place our faith in our Father, stay closely knit to Him through all phases of life, He will keep us calm in the storms when we live by Psalm 91:1 (911 - our emergency number) "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Remember Jesus, His disciples and their "boat" story in Mark 4:38-40? "But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

God is looking out for His kids -- let's let Him!

I Found a Special on Storm Shelters!

Oh. My. Goodness. The verbal wrangling and bickering in politics are enough to want to find a storm shelter and stay there until Jesus comes or at least until the storm passes over. Recently, I’ve heard commentators and read articles that declared “America is Facing Another Civil War”. And, others warn “We’re Facing World War III”.

Maybe you're a 50s or 60s child and, like me, you remember the Duck and Cover drills we did for personal protection in case of a nuclear attack which could have come at any time without warning. We’d hear the alarm sounding and then we’d rush to get in the fetal position, face down and covered our heads with our hands. I look at this photo and I wonder how in the world would that position have protected us?

There has ALWAYS been verbal wrangling and bickering and there have always been wars and rumors of wars since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, that hasn't changed. Matthew 24:6, says “you will hear about wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you’re not alarmed….”

Thank God FOR GOD! In reality, there seems to be no certainty in anything anywhere, EXCEPT that our God is stable, secure, and is our ANCHOR that holds in spite of storms, wars and any other force that comes against us. Bottom line. We can live unafraid because God is our rock, our refuge, our shelter in the time of any storm or war or any force that can come against us.
The most dependable, unshakeable HOPE we have during peace times AND perilous times is GOD HAS NOT CHANGED!! As God's children, we do not have to live in fear or defeat. Instead, as His kids, we go to our War/Storm/Crisis Shelter and that place is found in a 9-1-1 call. I call this number regularly.

Psalm 91:1 (911) "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

If ever there was a time to find peace, security, and hope in our Father, it is now. He wants us to prepare and rise above these storms of life whether they are storms within our families, the storms of wars around our world or literal storms. It's time for us to pray passionately for the peace and presence of God in our lives. We need to pray for our world and the uncertainties that face mankind. We need to come back to our CENTER and find our peace in Him. Our peace is an incredible testimony in hard times and will help those around us to find Him as their Prince of Peace. He wants to make Himself known in the middle of the present shaking. I can't think of a better place to go to, and place to be than in God's shelter. This entire chapter is one I've prayed over my family for years. It is still relevant and precisely the "Word" for us today:

Psalm 91:1-16 -- "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings, you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

In God We Trust

Psalm 91 has been my Psalm to live by for many years. It's my 911 call for daily help for protection for my loved ones and myself. The whole chapter is about "In God We Trust". Those words took on a whole new meaning when I heard a former paratrooper, now a pastor, speak yesterday about the trust it takes to be a paratrooper. He read from Psalm 91, which is considered "The Soldier's Psalm". He shared this story.

Almost 100 years ago, during World War I, the 91st Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Expeditionary Army was preparing to enter combat in Europe. Because their commander was a devout Christian, he assembled his men and gave each of them a little card on which was printed the 91st Psalm, the same number Psalm as their brigade. They agreed to recite that Psalm daily. After they had begun praying the Psalm, the 91st Brigade was engaged in three of the bloodiest battles of World War I. Other American units that fought in the same battles had up to 90 percent casualties, but the 91st Brigade did not suffer a single combat-related casualty.

Psalm 91:4 "He will cover you with His feathers; and you will take refuge under His wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield."

The pastor went on to show a video of paratroopers jumping out of an airplane and he said: "As you watch this video, think about how many things you must trust in to be a paratrooper." Right away, I thought, "your parachute", but, oh, as explained by the pastor, there's so much more: The pilot....trusting he is sober and competent; the navigator....trusting you don't get released over a swamp; the crew chief...that he knows his aircraft inside and out; the jumpmaster...who gives accurate instructions to the jumpers; the rigger....who packs, maintains and repairs the parachutes; the jumper in front of you and behind you...who you check their rigging and they check yours.

Clearly "in God we trust", but the fact is, shouldn't we be those who others say "In Bob I trust", "In Donna I trust", etc.? As God-followers, wouldn't it be prudent for us to follow His example and be dependable, honorable, devoted and faithful people, and prove our trustworthiness.....like the many that a paratrooper must depend on? This final photo I came across as I was searching paratrooper images for this post. It speaks volumes about how others view our trustworthiness, and the ability to affirm "In God I trust and in you I trust!"