ANCHOR OF HOPE: Never forsaken

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (Psalms 37:23-25)

One day there was a large English cargo vessel that departed from Le Harve, France, with its course to end at Brighton, England. While on its journey across the English Channel an intense storm arose. The rain quickly became relentless, the thunder and lightning terrible, and the waves soon began to rock the large ship. Because of the intensity of the storm, the experienced crew was concerned about making it to land safely.

In the midst of this terrible storm one of the nervous sailors noticed a young boy sitting calmly on the deck of the ship. The sailor, curious as to why the young boy was so calm, asked, "How can you be so calm when a storm of this intensity is unleashing its furry upon us?" The young boy, soaked by the mist from the crashing waves, simply stared and looked at the captain’s quarters. Again the sailor asked the boy the same question "How can you be so calm when a storm of this intensity is unleashing its furry upon us?" This time, still staring at the captain’s quarters, the young boy replied "Sir, you see that up there? That is where my dad, the captain, is, and as long as he is guiding this ship I have nothing to fear."

An amazing lesson can be learned from this simple story! Friend, I may not know all of the burdens you carry. I may not know what kind of storm you are facing. However, there is one thing I do know and that is if Jesus Christ is the captain of your "ship" then the storms of life will not overthrow you, everything will work out.

The opening verse for this article is a testimony of a man who went through many difficult valleys during his life. Some of the problems or "storms" that arose in King David's life were because of poor decisions that he had made; many others arose simply because he lived. But through all of the troubles he faced, David’s testimony was confident. "Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (Psalm 37:25b) To this statement I can give a resounding, AMEN! Like David, I have never seen the righteous forsaken. Jesus has always been the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24b

Whatever your circumstance, wherever life has led you, may you find comfort in these words and never lose sight of the "Captain."

Tim Braddock is pastor of Emerald Coast Baptist Church in Destin and can be reached at Tbraddock@emeraldcoastbc.com.