crashing waves..

Do you feel the tide coming in today, swirling around your ankles, rising by the minute? Is it one of those days that you feel as though you can't swim through the current, and you are going under? Those days seem to bring us right to our breaking point. I too have been there along with you, thinking this is the day that is going to take me down. But right when I feel like I am going under, a hand reaches out to me, and its a hand of safety, a hand that isn't giving up on me, its the hand of God. He has rescued me from the depths on many days. It is He who throws out that life preserver for us to hang on to. No one has hands like Him, no one can save us like He can. When you are writing that s.o.s in the sand He is there to rescue you from all danger and harm. If you have not felt the tide coming in, you may know someone who has, and one day it will reach around your ankles also. We often tell others to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps when trials come. That is impossible to do. You cannot grab your own bootstraps and pull yourself up, you may be able to put on those boots while your walking through the muck and mire. We often don't quite understand the pain of others until we too one day go through the pain ourselves. Its easy to sit back and give advice, its easy to tell others its going to be okay. But when that pain hits you, its at that point you hear your own voice that was spoken to others earlier, and its then that the tears flow, and you realize just how bad the pain really is. When the tide is coming in, it can take you in, it can take you under, but with Christ, He will bring us up for air, and He will breathe His peace and strength into us. We often don't realize what living is until we have lost what we have. There are those times we don't realize just how joyful life can be until we let go and let God. With God, He teaches us to put on our floaties, put on that life jacket, and throw our anchor out to Him. In Him we find that all things are possible, all pain doesn't last forever, and at the end of that tunnel there is light. If today you are starting over, if you have had a great loss, if you feel as though the pain is taking you under, reach out to Him, He will give you the strength to get back up again, He will give you the grace to cover the pain, He will give you the mercy you need to carry on, and He will lead you home, He will show you your path, He is our guide who gives us His great compass that always points to Him. Take out His word today, get on your knees today and stay there until He has refreshed you with His strength and power. When we feel the tide coming in, when the storm clouds are blowing in, we can run to our Strong Tower, and He will protect us, He will shield us from the enemy attacking. Your not alone today, He is there waiting for you to reach out to Him. Don't give up so quickly, trust God to work in you and in your situation. Once the storm clouds clear out, once you realize you do have hope, you can find hope in Christ, you will be able to smile again, and it will be a smile filled with Christ's new joy. "Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that the waves are still." Psalm 107:28-29 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope." Psalm 130:5 "The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation." Psalm 118:14