DAILY DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR WESLEY April 12, 2021

Cry Out to the Lord

Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters; They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits' end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, and praise Him at the seat of the elders. Psalm 107:23-32

Like the sailors in today’s passage, at some point you will hit great turbulence in your life. Perhaps you are currently experiencing a storm with no end in sight. Your situation may be so serious that you wonder how you’ll ever get through it. You’ve tried everything possible to resolve the matter but to no avail.

The solution is to do exactly what these sailors did—cry to the Lord in your trouble (Psalm 107:28). After all, He is sovereign over storms and uses them for His good purposes. God knows we sometimes need to reach the end of our own resources before we will turn to Him. Then, if we call out to the Lord and submit to His authority over the storm, He will calm the waves in His perfect timing and guide us to safety.

Remember, the goal is not simply to escape turmoil but to learn to depend on the Lord instead of ourselves. Trusting Him to handle what we cannot will ultimately lead to gladness, thanks, and praise for His lovingkindness and intervention on our behalf. And another wonderful result will be that we tell others how faithful God has been, so they can trust Him, too.

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