Are You Shipwrecked?
"Now you are a wrecked ship, broken at the bottom of the sea. All your merchandise and crew have gone down with you."
(Ezekiel 27:34 (NLT)
AFTER ENJOYING A WEEKEND AT the coast, my husband and I headed home. As I drove along the highway, we spotted a large roadside sign. Its words read, “Life is a shipwreck. Sing in the lifeboat.”
We exchanged a glance and smiled, reflecting on the previous several months.
Together, we’d weathered a shipwreck of our own.
After Dave suffered a life-altering accident, we slowed our pace.
He needed to be taught a few basic skills and to learn appropriate emotional responses.
Speech challenged him. Like a metaphorical bird, words perched at the tip of his tongue, then flew away before he could capture them.
I became versed in the true meaning of caregiving. Caring and giving.
As I looked after Dave’s needs, I saw in his eyes a new level of love—richer, more complete.
Just as his trust in me grew, my faith in Jesus deepened.
I felt panic as waves crashed against our boat of the life we’ve made for ourselves.
For a time, I wondered if the ship Dave and I sailed was sinking. But when I cried out, Jesus was there. He wasn’t asleep, because God never sleeps (Psalm 121:4).
He calmed our waves and guided our vessel to a safe harbor. This tempest hasn’t drowned our faith.
It strengthened it (Proverbs 10:25).
Yes, we are singing in the lifeboat—singing praises to Jesus, our Captain, and we always will. —HEIDI GAUL
FAITH STEP:
Are you sitting in a lifeboat?
Ask Jesus to settle the waves of your life and find rest on His calming seas. He’ll never let you sink.
What A Difference A Little Change Can Make
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6 (NLV)
I WAITED UNTIL THE LAST minute to send a final reminder to a business colleague. She’d always been prompt in returning assignments; I knew she had the deadline on her calendar.
When I finally emailed again, she responded that she’d turned in her submission a couple of weeks earlier.
She even sent a follow-up message to me when I didn’t respond.
Finally, we figured out the problem: She’d gotten one letter wrong in my email address.
A little mistake, like changing one letter or number, can cause big problems when we’re entering a credit card number, ID code, or password.
But sometimes one little change can be a positive thing.
When God made a covenant with Abram in Genesis, He changed Abram and Sarai’s names with one or two letters. Those new names marked a world of difference in their relationship with God.
In the New Testament, Saul became a transformed man when he met Jesus; from that point on, he was known as Paul. What a huge difference one little change can make in our spiritual life.
Adding prayer or Bible reading to our daily routine will transform our thoughts, our day, and our relationships.
Taking a small step of obedience to follow where Jesus leads will guide us to new heights.
Reaching out to someone with a simple act of kindness may lighten their darkness. With Jesus, little changes bring big results.
—DIANNE NEAL MATTHEWS
(Both stories are shared from “Mornings With Jesus" Devotional)
Faith Steps…
- Ask Jesus to help you make a small change in one area of your life, then watch for the results.
- Is someone within your circle of influence waiting for you to turn on the porch light? Will you?
- When you question your true worth, grab your favorite pair of old jeans, hold them close, and remind yourself that no matter how you feel about yourself or what your condition, Jesus thinks you’re valuable—valuable enough to die for.
- Weed a patch of yard, garden, or sidewalk today. Ask Jesus to pull harmful attitudes from your heart before they grow and spread.
- Read your favorite story about Jesus aloud.
- Find two magnets and pause for a while to play with them. As you observe the force of the magnetic pull, pray that Jesus living in you attracts people and that others are naturally drawn to Him through your life.
- If you’re not familiar with the old hymn “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” look up the words online or in a songbook. Sing or recite the lyrics as a prayer to honor Jesus.
"Now you are a wrecked ship, broken at the bottom of the sea. All your merchandise and crew have gone down with you."
(Ezekiel 27:34 (NLT)
AFTER ENJOYING A WEEKEND AT the coast, my husband and I headed home. As I drove along the highway, we spotted a large roadside sign. Its words read, “Life is a shipwreck. Sing in the lifeboat.”
We exchanged a glance and smiled, reflecting on the previous several months.
Together, we’d weathered a shipwreck of our own.
After Dave suffered a life-altering accident, we slowed our pace.
He needed to be taught a few basic skills and to learn appropriate emotional responses.
Speech challenged him. Like a metaphorical bird, words perched at the tip of his tongue, then flew away before he could capture them.
I became versed in the true meaning of caregiving. Caring and giving.
As I looked after Dave’s needs, I saw in his eyes a new level of love—richer, more complete.
Just as his trust in me grew, my faith in Jesus deepened.
I felt panic as waves crashed against our boat of the life we’ve made for ourselves.
For a time, I wondered if the ship Dave and I sailed was sinking. But when I cried out, Jesus was there. He wasn’t asleep, because God never sleeps (Psalm 121:4).
He calmed our waves and guided our vessel to a safe harbor. This tempest hasn’t drowned our faith.
It strengthened it (Proverbs 10:25).
Yes, we are singing in the lifeboat—singing praises to Jesus, our Captain, and we always will. —HEIDI GAUL
FAITH STEP:
Are you sitting in a lifeboat?
Ask Jesus to settle the waves of your life and find rest on His calming seas. He’ll never let you sink.
What A Difference A Little Change Can Make
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6 (NLV)
I WAITED UNTIL THE LAST minute to send a final reminder to a business colleague. She’d always been prompt in returning assignments; I knew she had the deadline on her calendar.
When I finally emailed again, she responded that she’d turned in her submission a couple of weeks earlier.
She even sent a follow-up message to me when I didn’t respond.
Finally, we figured out the problem: She’d gotten one letter wrong in my email address.
A little mistake, like changing one letter or number, can cause big problems when we’re entering a credit card number, ID code, or password.
But sometimes one little change can be a positive thing.
When God made a covenant with Abram in Genesis, He changed Abram and Sarai’s names with one or two letters. Those new names marked a world of difference in their relationship with God.
In the New Testament, Saul became a transformed man when he met Jesus; from that point on, he was known as Paul. What a huge difference one little change can make in our spiritual life.
Adding prayer or Bible reading to our daily routine will transform our thoughts, our day, and our relationships.
Taking a small step of obedience to follow where Jesus leads will guide us to new heights.
Reaching out to someone with a simple act of kindness may lighten their darkness. With Jesus, little changes bring big results.
—DIANNE NEAL MATTHEWS
(Both stories are shared from “Mornings With Jesus" Devotional)
Faith Steps…
- Ask Jesus to help you make a small change in one area of your life, then watch for the results.
- Is someone within your circle of influence waiting for you to turn on the porch light? Will you?
- When you question your true worth, grab your favorite pair of old jeans, hold them close, and remind yourself that no matter how you feel about yourself or what your condition, Jesus thinks you’re valuable—valuable enough to die for.
- Weed a patch of yard, garden, or sidewalk today. Ask Jesus to pull harmful attitudes from your heart before they grow and spread.
- Read your favorite story about Jesus aloud.
- Find two magnets and pause for a while to play with them. As you observe the force of the magnetic pull, pray that Jesus living in you attracts people and that others are naturally drawn to Him through your life.
- If you’re not familiar with the old hymn “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” look up the words online or in a songbook. Sing or recite the lyrics as a prayer to honor Jesus.
