He (the LORD) commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble. … Then they cry out to the LORD, … and he brings them out of their distresses.
Psalm 107:25.26.28.
Nowadays a voyage is a thrilling experience, especially when the sea is calm and the sky cloudless. For a landlubber such a trip is a great enjoyment. At the time when there were only sailing ships, however, when ships were smaller and not fitted with modern technical equipment, voyages could be very dangerous. Even an experienced sailor could easily lose heart.
How many such hardened seamen will have cried out to God for help in their trouble! And God, who sends the storms can also calm them and preserve us from all danger. Our life is like a voyage over the ocean. And we, too, can experience not only sunny weather, but also many a storm. Then we feel just what the psalmist expresses in today’s verses: our “soul melts because of trouble”.
People are generally not much help, and as far as our own abilities are concerned, we are at the end of our tether. We see no way out. Is there really none? Certainly there is – the One who ordered the storm, so as to start us thinking! God wants us to find our refuge in Him, almighty God. Maybe it is precisely because we haven’t listened to Him when all was calm that He now speaks through the “storm”, not because He wishes to harm us, but because He loves us. He is willing and ready to rescue us from our troubles for the eternal glory of heaven.
Image: By Mike Quinn, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13600658