Hope on the Horizon

May 24

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Back in 2010 we took our youth group on a retreat that was on a small island off the coast of Okinawa. It was about a 1.5 hours boat ride, with large swells. Now, I was raised on Southern Illinois lakes, so I didn’t think anything of a boat ride in the ocean. I had never had motion sickness in the past, and I did not think that this was going to change on a short boat ride. Once we cleared port and the boat really began to move, my stomach gave way to the waves. It was like breaking a seal, because every time I took a boat into the Ocean after that, I got sick.

            A couple years later, I was talking to someone about this and they told me a trick – go outside the boat, onto the top if possible, and keep your eyes on the horizon. There is something stabilizing about keeping your eyes fixed on that never changing point. The fresh air, spray of the water, sound of the waves, and that simple fixed point so far off in the distance that it doesn’t move – that was the trick.

            In life, the only fixed point like the horizon, is God. When we feel the waves of life tossing us around, we need to look to God and keep our eyes firmly fixed there. In doing that, God will renew our strength. We may be feeling weak, like we are not going to make it – but when God renews our strength through our hope in Him, we will not faint or grow weary. It’s all about keeping our eyes firmly fixed on God.

            Think about Peter and walking on water. The only disciple to have the courage to step out of the boat. The only one other than Jesus to walk on water – took his eyes off of the Savior for a split-second and he began to sink. His focused shifted from what was true (Jesus) to what was happening around him (the storm). In our life, if we focus on the storm, or even the results of the storm, we are going to miss what God is doing in/through the storm. Since we have hope in Jesus, let’s focus on Him!

Reflect:

·       How are you handling the storms?

·       Are you shifting your eyes away from the horizon (Jesus)?

·       What can you see God doing through the storm?

Hope on the Horizon

Our Hope Does Not Disappoint

A Future Hope