The Tide Will Come In…

Today’s message was written by Roger Kunkle, founder of Dial Hope.

It is meaningful to me that the three churches where I served as pastor were all located near water. In Duluth, Minnesota, the church was several blocks from Lake Superior. In Chicago, the church was one block from the Des Plaines River. And In Sarasota, Florida, I was near the Gulf of Mexico.

If you’ve ever visited Sarasota, you know that some of the world’s most beautiful beaches are in this area. Sometimes when I walk on the beach I am overwhelmed by how big the ocean is, and how little I am. Then I remember that the Bible says in Psalm 95:4-5, “In God’s hands are the depths of the earth… The sea is his for he made it.”

There is one who is bigger than even the ocean. There is a God who is not helpless before it. Realizing that, my faith is strengthened and I feel serene and unafraid. Living by water, by the ocean, there comes to me a better understanding of life, because the two are so much alike. Life itself has a vastness that is beyond the reach of our sight. But we can say with the Psalmist, “I trust in you, O Lord… My times are in your hands.” (Psalm 31:14,15)

We believe nothing can happen in our lives that God cannot handle. And that gives us confidence and faith and hope as we think of tomorrow.

There are many parallels between life and the ocean. We experienced times of low tide and high tide, and there is no way to stop those tides. If we realized that we will experience low tides of spirit, then our moments of discouragement lose much of their terror. The tide will come in. Yes, the tide may go out, just as surely it comes back.

There are times when we are anxious to accomplish something, but there are times when we must “wait for the tide.” But in the waiting, we can be certain the tide will rise. And because of that certainty, we have faith and hope. Say to yourself, “My times are in God’s hands,” and you will gain serenity and quietness, and trust. My times are in God’s hands.

Let us pray: Loving God, whatever difficulty we are facing, remind us that the tide will come in. May your presence, your peace, and your comfort, flow over us like healing waters, baptizing us in your love, mingling your balm with our tears to create living waters for tomorrow. All of these things we pray in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ who came among us as one of us. Amen.