“And he arose, and rebuked the wind,
and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a
great calm.”-- Mark 4:39 (KJV)
“Peace, be still (be
healed),” which may
translate as “Shalom, rafa” in Hebrew.
Those are important words when trying to calm the Sea of Galilee. This body of
water is on a fault line. It is prone to sudden tempests, including waves of up
to fifteen feet in height.
No wonder the disciples were terrified when confronted with a
squall. The Lord, on the other hand, stayed peaceful. He stood by the belief/knowledge
that, no matter what happened, the boat would arrive safely at the opposite
shore.
Faith in the Storms—for
Us
If someone has been tossed about on huge waves for a long
time, it’s next to impossible to believe in calm waters. A person can even
forget what calmness feels like.
Life can seem out of control. God is still guiding us behind the
scenes.
Unbroken: Path to
Redemption (spoiler alert)
For the next
two or three articles, I will explore themes from this excellent movie:. The first
film, Unbroken, introduces the true story
of Louis Zamperini. He is an Olympic track-and-field star. When World War 2 begins,
he joins the Army Air Corps.
Zamperini and his bomber crew get shot down and
stranded for 47 days in the ocean. Louis ends up in a Japanese prisoner of war
camp.
The second
movie (mentioned above) begins as Louis returns home after the war. Unsurprisingly,
the war hero battles Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and self-doubt.
God Guides us Always
Zamperini is
full of anger and confusion when he returns to the U.S. He turns to alcohol to
mask the pain. Three blows add to his sorrow:
- Olympic hopes are shot down when he hurts his leg
- Can’t find a decent job
- New wife, Cynthia, is considering divorce.
How could the
war hero possibly move forward? He couldn’t in
his own strength, but with God, he was able. Zamperini was led to a
successful Plan B.
Louis had
stopped believing in God, but his wife hadn’t. Zamperini finally accepted Cynthia’s
invitation to fully embrace Christianity. He met Billy Graham and became an
evangelist and motivational speaker. He also stopped drinking cold turkey.
My Conclusion
Footprints in the Sand (as seen on sapphyr.net)
One night I
had a dream.
I dreamed I
was walking along the beach
with the
Lord..
Across the
sky flashed scenes from my life..
For each
scene, I noticed two sets of
footprints in
the sand,
one belonging
to me, and the other to the Lord..
When the last
scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back
at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed
that many times along the path of my life
there was
only one set of footprints.
I also
noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest
times in my life.
This really
bothered me
and I
questioned the Lord about it:
"Lord,
you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk
with me all the way.
But I have
noticed that during the most
troublesome
times in my life
there is only
one set of footprints.
I don't
understand why
when I need
you most you would leave me."
The Lord
replied:
"My
precious child, I love you and would
never leave
you.
During your
times of trial and suffering,
when you see
only one set of footprints, it was then
that I
carried you."
by Mary
Stevenson (The original author and copyright of this poem are under dispute.)
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