Scripture:
Psalm 107:28-31 ESV
[28] Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. [29] He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. [30] Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. [31] Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
Observation:
Matthew 8:23-27 was written more than 400 years later, but if you read it, it looks like they could be days apart, and this psalm almost seems to take place after Matthew 8. However, we know because of the order of the scripture this psalm was written before. Now, for the first time, bible readers, this might not be caught. I have been reading it for several years, and honestly, this is the first time I put it together. The Bible is a prophetic book that speaks of one person from front to back. Therefore, it speaks of grace from front to back. These few verses in a psalm are speaking of Jesus. There were several prophecies about HIM all throughout the bible, and this is one of them. Now, for one man to fulfill just 15 of these prophecies would have been impossible according to statistics. It would be like painting a penny yellow dropping it in 10 dump trucks of pennies, stirring them up, and trying to find it multiply the difficulty of that by 1000, and you get close to the impossible task of fulfilling 15 of the more than a hundred prophecies of Jesus. Now, you are starting to see one of my points. Ok, moving on. Let’s look at what this scripture says. HE heard their cry of distress, and HE did something about it. It’s going to be hard to stay away from the application process in this scripture, but I’m going to give it an attempt. Over and over again, the Israelites would get so far on self-will only to see that they were not getting the results they wanted. They would find themselves in a storm, so to speak, and not have a way out in their distress they would call out to GOD, and HE would save them settling the waves and bringing them to peace. Or, as this scripture says, bringing them to the heaven they desired. HE would bring them to a point where they would be grateful for what HE did. Thanking HIM for HIS wonderful work.
Application:
How many times have you called out to Jesus from your distress? If you’re anything like me, the storm has to be overbearing and create a lot of damage before you turn to HIM. However, as soon as you do, HE says peace and the Strom stops raging. There seems to be a calmness that proceeds. If we could just keep our eyes on HIM, the storm would not be so overwhelming. I think about Peter getting out of the boat, and I think… man, I want to walk on water… but then just like him… I see the storm and start to sink. It’s easy to do. Life can be overwhelming at times. We honestly just need to remember that the one who calmed the storm said HE would never leave us or forget about us. Staying focused on our heavenly father. Doesn’t make the storm go away. But it will give you peace inside of it.
Prayer:
Father, we know that you will answer us when we call out to you in distress. What you really want is a relationship with us where we just call out to you all the time without any distress needed. Help us to see that and not lose focus. You are the most important person in our lives. The strom can rage, and the winds can blow, but when our sight is steadfast on you, our foundation is set, and we can not be shaken. Help us to stay focused and not get sidetracked. You have a plan, and it is a good plan it’s for our future and will give us hope. We trust you. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.