Faith holds on to the promise that God will rescue us.

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I am numb with pain and severely battered;
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel…
Yet I wait for you, O LORD! You will respond, O Lord, my God!
Psalm 38:8,15 New English Translation

I long for the day when I’m able to stand at the Oregon Coast when a major storm hits. Granted, I’d like someone to be with me, you know, just in case… There’s nothing like the power of the ocean when it’s thrown into pure chaos by the wind. The waves crashing into the seemingly unmovable cliffs can’t be copied. It’s relentless, deafening and sovereign. Nothing wins against the ocean’s fury…except these cliffs.

Near Cape Arago, Coos Bay, Oregon

It’s one thing to experience this fury from a distance and another to be caught in the tempest. Over 2,000 ships and 700 lives have been lost at the mouth of the Columbia River, giving it the name, “The Graveyard of the Pacific.” The Peter Iredale stands as a monument to these shipwrecks with its skeleton rising out of the sand at Ft. Stevens State Park.

Some of us see our lives as being in danger of shipwrecking. We’re tossed by the wind and waves of life. We’re “numb with pain and severely battered.” We “groan loudly” because of the anxiety that we feel each day.

Though our lives might be tossed about by our daily battles, God’s love stands firm against these struggles. These rocks will eventually erode from the force of the ocean, but God’s love will never change. He stands in the middle of our storms – of your storms.

The full tempest of sin beat on Jesus as he died on his cross, yet sin didn’t win. Our sin was buried with Jesus, and in exchange he has given us life. Too often we think that we’ll only experience real life when we’re with Christ, no longer beaten by the waves. However, Jesus said that he came to give us abundant life now, even while the storms rage.

Faith holds firm to the promise that through Christ, we’ll weather the waves.

Text and Picture Copyright Douglas P Brauner