"In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.”
(Psalm 18:6)
I see a sailor in the absolute abyss of black sky and sea, worn and weary from being tossed by the waves day after day, night after night. His navigation systems have been destroyed by the storm. He’s running out of food and water. Hope seems lost. Just when he’s sure his life is over, doubting his very existence, crushed from all the pain he’s caused and endured, with one last effort he cries:
I’m reaching out
One last plea
Is hope all gone?
Somebody save me
S.O.S.
I’m lost at sea
Is hope all gone?
Somebody save me
His words do not fall on deaf ears. Out of the silence of the lonely open water - he sees a Figure approaching. A sea parting, storm calming, dead man raising Figure who through his salty blurred eyes looks like the very Son of God, Jesus. The sailor jumps out of the boat and runs to him on the water and at the moment of embrace he knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that he has been saved, that every evil deed and thought he ever had are completely forgiven and that all the hope that was lost has been restored.
Metaphorically speaking, this is the story of my life. I grew up hearing about Jesus all of my life and as a young child decided to follow Him. But life came. And starting in my teens I began to run from God. Hard. After battling with alcohol and drug addiction, 5 treatment centers, dealing drugs to support my habit and destroying many relationships, I had lost the will to live and was so overcome by anxiety that I did not think there was any hope left. In the great darkness of my despair I cried out to God not even knowing if He was real. He ran to me like only a Father can. He met me right there in the middle of the stormy sea. My life is far from perfect, but my Rescuer is completely perfect and is perfecting me daily as He leads me to my forever home in Heaven.
-Ed of We The Kingdom
