Swept Out to Sea

Why do we struggle to remain unshakeable

Bible Passage: Ps 112:1–10

Introduction

Have you ever had a real life terrifying ocean experience? Probably the most terrifying ocean experience I can remember is being a few hundred yards from the Atlantic Ocean as a category 1 hurricane passed by at about 15-20 miles off-shore. Watching the palm trees bent parallel to the ground for hours on end as the wind just blew constantly. Despite living in a concrete block building, it just didn’t feel very safe. I remember it passed us by during the nighttime hours and it made for a very long evening. It was one of the times I’ve made a choice and then worried with my family huddled there in the house together if I’d made a very wrong decision. I decided right then it would be the last time I stayed on that island when a hurricane of any size was coming are way. Fortunately, that was the last one that came close while we lived there.

I remember a few weeks later meeting with a men’s Bible Study group on a sailboat near our house. The boat docked next to us was a relatively small sailboat that my friend told us belonged to a gentleman who lived on the boat. During that particular storm he detached from the dock and moved out into the middle of the river, threw out some anchors and rode out the storm. While I knew it was the “sensible” thing to do with his boat. It didn’t seem like even remotely reasonable thing to do with himself. I simply couldn’t imagine putting my life, let alone my family in that degree of danger. It was honestly beyond my comprehension. Making it safely through the storms we encounter in life can often be quite difficult. There are some reasons we struggle. It helps to recognize what they are and given ourselves the right tools instead.

1. Erroneous Expectations

Psalm 112:1–3 “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”

Blessed to fear the Lord

Having right perspective on God is crucial

Knowing we should live in awe

Blesses the one with proper expectations

Delight in His commandments

Take joy in the directions He’s given

Know what those commandments are

Puts you on the path to safe navigation

Righteousness endures forever

Living righteous corrects our errors

Righteous living leads to wealth and riches

Knowing what real riches are corrects faulty expectations

Dealing with unmet expectations can be frustrating. More often than not though I’m finding when my expectations go unmet, it’s because I started from the wrong place from the start. We marry with certain expectations for how life will go for us. Then we realize we can’t know what’s going on inside the head of another person and we can very easily drift apart in our expectations or really never have been aligned in the first place. Many relationships have lost there way because two people didn’t agree on what they should be getting out of the relationship. The great news is if you both have the same underlying expectation, this relationship will end in our death, you can learn to communicate and get on the same sheet of music. I’ve experienced it. The path from there to here can look like climbing Everest, but you’ve got a lifetime. So dig in and start walking. I promise you can get there.

2. Poor Preparation

Psalm 112:4–6 “Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.”

Light pierces the darkness

Choosing to prepare properly brings perspective

Correct light teaches us grace, mercy, and righteousness

Light reveals hidden pitfalls

Generous lending leads to Life

Generosity is always the right choice

Lenders prosper by preparation

Just living ensures we remain on the narrow path (Way that seems right leads to death. Proverbs 16:25)

Righteous will never be moved

Knowing righteousness prepares the way

Keeps us off the wrong path

Keeps us from being led astray

Are you the one who starts thinking about packing long before the date of your trip arises? I am not. I’ve traveled enough now that when I need to pack I just to through my drawers and grab what I know for sure I’ll need. But getting ready to go out of town Friday, I kept wondering if I’d forgotten anything. I’ve been to tons of football games now and know what I really need to take with me. But it’s been like 8 months now, so there was a little room for me to forget something. Maybe someday I should put together a checklist, so that I don’t have to rely on my fading memories.

3. Sad Self-preservation

Psalm 112:7–10 “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!”

Righteousness makes fear flee

No fear of bad news

Firm heart rests on righteousness

Trust in the Lord brings us safe through storms

Generous giving calms fear

When we give freely we don’t fear failure

Giving in response to God is the key

Gives us freedom for the future - knowing he won’t abandon us

Wicked rocked by righteousness

Anger natural response to freedom of trust

Gnashes his teeth and melts away

Desire will perish with no foundation to trust

I believe I heard Jake say last week, tests are only difficult for the unprepared. If you’ve studied and know the answers, it’s easy to pass a test and you have no reason to be afraid. The more solidly the foundation is built, the less fear there is in facing the storm. In medical school i had to learn piles of information. There was often frankly more than you could even hope to read through once, let alone have time to focus and memorize or firmly plant it in your mind. So you had to get good at determining what really mattered the most. Few if any of us have the capacity to read and remember everything written in this book. I’ve been reading it through every year and there’s still a great deal I can’t just grab immediately in the face of need. But I’m far better off than I was 20 years ago. I’ve learned a lot about why I can trust God. I’m prepared to depend on Him in any circumstance. I don’t wonder and worry if He’s going to show up, I know I just have to wait for the when and trust Him in the middle.