Shipwrecked

By Sharon Frame
www.streamingfaith.com
This week's topic: Faithfulness

A couple set sail on the velvet-blue ocean for a lazy weekend getaway at sea. Instead they got shipwrecked by a sudden and perilous storm. All that surrounded them were miles of lashing waves. Help was nowhere in sight. The turbulent winds blew more fierce. The couple’s frantic hope of getting rescued grew dim with every passing day.

When food and drinking water ran out, fear and panic set in. On day 27, the desperate man just couldn’t take it anymore. He figured even death was better than the torture at sea. So, he jumped overboard and drowned. On day 28, search crews spotted the crippled boat and rescued the feverishly weak and half-starved woman. What a difference a day makes!

Today may be the day you feel shipwrecked at sea. Life’s storms seem ready to swallow you up. And as far as the eyes can see, there is only a sea of sadness; help is nowhere on the horizon.
Indeed, challenges can overwhelm us at times. And even though we’ve been tossed and tried before, new setbacks still stun us.

We seem all too ready to wonder about our worth or question our ability. The once-steady plan to pursue a better life falls victim to sudden doubt.

“Could we be off course,” we ask, as soon as we hit a bump in the road, or a crashing wave on the high seas.

But now is not the time to consider bailing out. In fact, there is never a good time to give in to the feeling of giving up. No matter how strong the urge to abandon hope, we must cling on for dear life. Struggle with one nostril above water, if we must. But don’t be swallowed up by the feeling of failure or hopelessness.

Sure darkness will close in on your bright and happy plans now and then. But don’t let it choke the life out of your will to press on.

So your compass may be broken, and it seems you’re drifting aimlessly. Remember, another day is dawning. Don’t be found jumping overboard, just as fate prepares to toss you a life line. Hang on. You possess the power to persevere through any wretched shipwreck.

Scripture Of The Day: "Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." - Hebrews 12:3 (ESV)