Ready to Take a Cruise? Hold Onto the Captain of the Ship!

We’ve been asked if we’d ever like to take a cruise. I just don’t know. I love swimming, but really only where I can see the bottom and know I’m not in over my head. I am not sure I like the idea that I would be in a tiny floating town in 2 mile deep water. Cruising along with creatures that can eat you doesn’t make me feel safe at all. Probably the nearest thing to a ship I’ve ever been on is a houseboat and it was moored at the time. This is still a possibility and we will continue to think about it. 

I’m not known for my risky adventures. But there are some ships that I’ve traveled on – relationships, friendships, hardships to name a couple. Smooth sailing most of the time. With these three ships I’ve taken some huge risks. Some of the trips on these ships have required me to get out of my comfort zone. Some have been rocky trips, making me seasick with pain. 

To go on the friendship cruise you have to dare to be real and dare to love. This friendship cruise can last for years and years. Occasionally the trip is cut short through no fault of your own. Don’t quit loving, don’t quit being real. That ship has sailed but another one is coming again soon. This is a cruise you don’t have to take. It’s a choice. But the choice is worth it. Rich and rewarding can be the best words if you’re willing. 

Relationship cruises require complete honesty and total selflessness. Big words those both are. Honesty requires you to be authentic, candid and open with those closest to you. Selflessness simply means as the 70’s song said, “think a little more of others and a little less of me”. This cruise can last a lifetime if you go with someone who also wants to travel the world with you. Again, you can leave this one off your itinerary but for those who go it promises great rewards. Make sure you know all about this one before you go – you want to travel with like-minded people who will lift you up and not put you down; those who know the ropes and are willing to share their faith with you as you grow along the way.

The hardship cruise is one no sane person will sign up for ahead of time. Nope. It just shows up one day on your lawn of all things. It’s a rough, rough road to get to the seas that will prove to be choppy and dangerous. You’ll meet some interesting things on this cruise – adversity, lack, need, suffering, rejection. The entire trip is under hard conditions. No let up, no great stops along the way. Just the continual rocking of your heart and mind and spirit until you feel you can’t take another minute and you cry and try to jump ship. This trip is usually the most lonesome of trips for the people you met on the friendship and the relationship sometimes don’t want to go with you when you travel this way. 

You’ll need to carry supplies on all the ships you travel on. Hope – which is the conviction that the trip makes sense regardless of how it turns out. Peace – this will guard your heart and mind better than a Dramamine. The Word of God –you will have plenty of time to read and you will want to find the Truth regarding things you encounter along the way. 

God speaks to my heart: You don’t always get to choose which ship you are traveling on and when you can disembark. But you can always be sure that I AM going to be with you wherever you travel. You will never be totally alone because I AM your closest ally, your most worthwhile relationship and the Captain of even the roughest seas. You can travel in safety. You can trust the harbor. You can rejoice in the midst of it all as you look to Me for all your needs whether at home or away. I love you. So I will send you people to help for a season. I am with you, so I will give you relationships that will build your faith. I will let you go through hardships, knowing that you will grow stronger and more steadfast here than any other trip you take. Your trip is not your destination. I AM the one who travels before you to prepare you for everything you may need, not only along the way, but all the way to the moment you leave for heaven.

Oh beloved, let God lead you! He knows your past. He knows your present situation. He knows your future. His desire is that you let Him be the captain of your life so that no matter where you go, how you travel or what the conditions, you will learn to rely on Him more and more. The only place of true safety is in trusting in the Lord, relying on the Holy Spirit and living in the Light of His Word. God loves you and He’s for you. That’s why, no matter what ship you sail on, the Gospel Ship will be your best voyage ever as you learn to trust Jesus for the entire cruise.

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.

Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Proverbs 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend; 

Joshua 1:9 This is My command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. NLT

You Will Not LIVE in that Valley!

We recently made a trip through the Boston Mountains in northwest Arkansas.  Normally I’m pretty worn out after the ride but this year it was nice. I like rolling hills and the not so big mountains in Arkansas.  We came home a different way to avoid construction and found ourselves going through a valley. Some valleys are pretty, fertile and green with slow moving cattle and the occasional deer. Other valleys are stark, treeless and without any green to speak of.  I find it hard to see any beauty in those valleys. 

God speaks to my heart: I’ve been through a lot of valleys. Some of you may be going through a valley right now. Some of them were valleys I chose to walk through. Other valleys showed up abruptly because of things that happened to me. At the hands of another, the valley can be especially hard. Can you relate? There are the valleys of decision, valleys of death, valleys of troubles, trials and emotion.

What do we do when we’re in a valley? What happens if a torrential rain of trials, hurts, agony comes? How do we escape? Where do we find solace? What if the sun is beating down so hard on us that we feel we’re going to burn up and die right in that valley? Will anyone find us? Will anyone help us? Where is the shade when you need it? Where are our friends? Why are we all alone in this huge valley? We don’t think we’re going to make it!

What we’re really saying in all of our valleys is “where is God?” That’s who we really want!  When everything else is empty, when everyone else has walked away, driven on, ridden out of our life, it’s just us and we have a Savior. And His name is I AM. His name is Comforter, Wonderful, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and He is my Abba Father.

Oh beloved, God is God in everything you are going through. He has not abdicated His throne. He has not given away His Sovereignty, His Provision or His will. He is stepping into your valley as King of Kings and Lord of Lord. But He alone is King. He alone is Lord. If you will look up from this valley and look to the mountain of the Lord, look to Him alone, you will find Him to be the All Sufficient One.

Nothing else is true beloved. You are not alone. You are not abandoned. You are not lost. Because God sees the past, present, and future, He is able to know beforehand what our needs are and therefore make provision for all that we need. You are not at the mercy of the buzzards who want to circle your circumstances. You are not left to be eaten and destroyed.

The Lord Himself loves you and that love is everlasting, eternal and complete. He is on your side, already making provision for you! Rejoice as you live in the light of His Word!

Genesis 22:14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Jehovah Jireh)

Isaiah 33:6 In that day He will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.

Psalm 42:11 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again—my Savior and my God!

Praise God for Fleas? He Has a Purpose for Everything

If you haven’t read the book The Hiding Place I would encourage you to do so. It’s the story of the struggles of a young woman and her family during the holocaust.  Corrie Ten Boom and her sister suffered terribly in the concentration camps where her father and sister subsequently died. Corrie alone survived to be set free. She went on to write her story and speak across the continents on, of all things, God’s love.  One of the stories in her book stands out to me. Corrie and her sister were Christians and they loved to share the Bible with others, even while in prison.  The guard would come into the barracks and regularly harass and do terrible things to the women. But the barracks that Corrie and her sister were in was full of fleas.  They were horrible! Corrie regularly complained about them.  Her sister Betsie finally had an answer as Betsie suggested they give thanks to God for the fleas. Although Corrie was astonished at this idea she soon realized her sister was right.  Because of the fleas, the guards would not come into their area. This gave them free opportunity to share Christ with the women there.  Those women, in such foul circumstances, were drawn to the Bible studies as though it was all they had, and indeed it truly was.  Through those fleas, God protected the women from abuse and harassment.  Dozens of desperate women were free to hear the comforting, hope-giving Word of God.  Through those fleas, God protected the women from much worse things and made sure they had their deepest, truest needs met.

We all have “fleas” in our lives. Those things that seem to cause such hardship, harassment and trouble.  We have the choice in our circumstances to curse God for them or to give thanks to Him in them. While hard things do happen and trials do come, we can rejoice regardless of our circumstances. It is only in giving each thing to God and seeing Him work in spite of them that we find both peace and purpose.

Oh beloved, are you tired of cursing your situation? Are you finding that you are tired and worn out from concentrating only on those “fleas”?  The Lord speaks to you this morning and He says, through His Word, “Give me thanks in all things” for I inhabit your praises. I love you son, I love you daughter and I can use each circumstance to let you highlight my glory and spread the Gospel to all.  I have a purpose for your life and it is good. If you will trust Me today I will take the “fleas” of your life and turn them into stepping stones for your ministry.  Trust Me. I have you by the hand and I will relieve you of your burdens as you thank Me!

Run to Him this morning and give thanks! He loves you and He’s for you and He wants to use you to share Himself with others and that’s all that really matters!

I Thessalonians 5:18  Amplified   Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

Psalm 100:4  Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

Ephesians 5:20  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.