David said, “Help, Lord,” (Psalm 12:1); King Jehoshaphat said, “Neither know we what to do” (2 Chronicles 20:12); Peter said, “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30); and I say, “God, we’re lost, and we don’t know what to do. Please help us.”
Yesterday, Sunday – Father’s Day, I spent the day under good preaching, surrounded by people I know and love, and still I felt overwhelmed and despondent. Christians aren’t supposed to feel like that, are they? Well, apparently, they can, and they do, because I just quoted three passages where they did – and I just joined the chorus.
All I can say right now is that I am glad I have a God I can turn to when life is overwhelming. He is not offended or threatened by my honesty. He might rebuke me like He did Peter by asking me: “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt” (Matthew 14:31)? But thankfully, He asks questions like that after He’s rescued us, not after we’ve gone completely under. Peter cried out when the “saw the wind boisterous” and was “beginning to sink” (Matthew 14:30). To his credit, he sought the Lord immediately, he didn’t say, “Lord, I think I got this. Let me tread water a while. Then I’ll call when I really need help.” He called out right away.
Jehoshaphat learned his lesson the hard way. Prior to the passage I quoted, he’d gone into battle alongside King Ahab against godly counsel and almost got himself killed. Now he was facing a new threat. There were enemy armies in his land, and they were almost literally on his front doorstep. Had this been the Jehoshaphat of the previous chapter, he might have turned to human allies. That would have been the politically acceptable thing to do. Kings in the region did that all the time. But this time, instead of doing the expedient thing, Jehoshaphat turned to God and God rewarded him with a victory. (See 2 Chronicles 20:24-34.)
I’m not seeing victory. Not yet. Like Peter, all I can see is the waves right now. Like Israel, before young David showed up, all I can see is Goliath on the battlefield looming larger than life and seemingly bigger than God. I told my daughter that hard times can feel like that because they’re right in your face, so they look much bigger than they really are. I know it’s just a matter of perspective – and time. “Be still and know that I am God,” the Lord tells me (Psalm 46:10a). One day, when God has put this one behind me, I’ll be able to look back and say: “That was such a little thing,” even though now it seems like the biggest thing in the room. So, as I wait for God to show Himself mighty, all I can do now is pray: “Lord, help. Just…help.”
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Grace in Waves 