By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

When Life Makes Waves

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“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
James 1:2-3 English Standard Version

Do you ever feel like the fellow on the sailboat in this picture?  You are out for a pleasant, restful journey on a beautiful day when along comes a jet ski who rocks your world!  I think you can imagine how this sailor feels; upset, disrupted, thrown off balance.

Life is full of unexpected waves that rock your faith boat.  Sickness, financial loss, physical injury, broken relationships, hurt, even death, can strike into your life without a warning.  There are many “trials of various kinds” and when they happen they test your faith.  The calamity occurs and you are left wondering if you can weather this storm and if there is anyone whom you can rely on.

Suffering is never welcome nor invited in our lives.  We spend a good deal of time trying to avoid the trials I have mentioned.  But when they do occur (and they will) we can be confident that the Lord has us in His hands and He will use this testing of our faith to bring about stronger trust and bonding in our relationship with Him.

Suffering reveals how fragile and temporary our security actually is, and how much we need a God who does not change and whose promises are true forever.  As we go through hard times, as our boat gets rocked violently,  the Lord Jesus invites us to call upon Him and find true security and true joy in Him, and not in the comforts of this world.

Suffering is not something we look forward to, for even our Lord Jesus struggled in prayer as He faced suffering and the cross.  But in Jesus Christ we find the love of God and His steadfastness even in the most difficult places.

Lord Jesus, even as you trusted in the Father in your suffering, grant me faith in the sufferings in my life.  I trust you, even in the midst of disruptions and trials.  I find my peace in you.  Amen.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado