Midgett Adventures~ #11 Securing for Sea

January 29, 2010

All of us who are true Believers will face storms in our lives. Days will come when the waves of life will rock our faith until it seems that we will not be able to escape the tempest that surrounds us. However it is at such crucial moments in our lives that we find out what our hearts are anchored to. When we hit bedrock and all is striped away usually is the very times we realize that all that truly matters is Christ and He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Probably about a month ago is when all of us here on the Midgett began seriously preparing for this next patrol---what I mean by preparing is actually what we call “securing for sea”. We took as much line as we could find and tied down everything within sight so that it looked like one giant spider had turned the inside of our boat into a spider web. We made sure that everything was ready to take the storms and waves that would be awaiting us once we got out to sea. If we waited until we were in the midst of the crashing waves it would be too late and equipment would get broke and people would be hurt. The time to secure for sea is before you go. I think this lesson can also carry over into a Believers life as well.

We know the storms of life will come and so we should rightly prepare for them. The time to get ready to face the awful force of a sea gale is not when you are in the midst of it and thirty foot waves are crashing your boat here and there. No, the time to prepare and “secure for sea” is before you get anywhere near the storm. Spend time in God’s Word preparing Your heart to meet the temptations and opposition that you will face in a fallen world, be disciplined in prayer so that you are ready for the attacks of the powers of darkness and your flesh, meditate and treasure God’s Word in your heart so that you may not sin against the Lord. Secure for sea and be ready for the storms that are coming for surely they will come and only those who have put in the work beforehand will be prepared when the time actually comes.

During storms make sure your gaze is fixed upon Christ and not upon the waves. When you look at the waves fears and doubts will overwhelm your heart, but when your gaze is set on Christ all else will fade away. Keep what you have secured for sea secured. Do not stop reading God’s Word, meditating upon it, and praying to the Almighty One once you are in the midst of a storm. Yes you prepared beforehand, but all you did can just as easily be undone if you do not keep Christ central and first in your life.

Remember as you are in the midst of a fierce storm that it is not an accident nor a coincidence. God is the One who sends the storms into our lives and even custom makes them so that they are the exact storms we need. The One who is holding us through the pain and hurt---through the storm---is the one who lovingly ordained and bestowed it into your life. He has a reason and purpose even when we cannot see why He would do so. Do not get hung up on the “whys” but trust in God and look unto Jesus through the eyes of faith.