152 Storms, Anchors and Lighthouses

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

It amazes me, Gentle Reader, where this sort-out takes me and the things I find there. Last blog I explored adventuring of the purely positive kind—daily enjoyment in adventure with the Lord (which is what “delighting in the Lord” means to me). In the blog prior to that one, adventuring of the purely negative kind was recommended as best avoided. But now I’m wondering, what about adventure of the mixed kind—the way life seems to be all too often if not every day?

To me, times of mixed adventure are those we people tend to call “bad” or “hard” times. Could it be we are wrong? We have seen that there are sublime adventures with God in good times but what about bad times? Can the adventure still be called sublime?

First let me declare to you that at this point in my life it has become my firm conviction that adventure not only can be sublime in bad times, but is! And here’s why. With only modest modifications, the formula for good times—God + enjoyment + intellectual curiosity + choice = sublime adventure—still works in hard times. Change it to God + rejoicing in the Lord + trusting in the Lord + abiding in the Lord + choice = sublime adventure and one arrives at a sublime formula for navigating the storms of life (1 Peter 1:6, NKJV).

This new formula means great things to the believer. It means anchors that hold in the fiercest of storms and beckoning lighthouses, promising safety. It means a doable adventure (adventure does not always mean just fun, Gentle Reader, to say the least) and explains why storms, anchors and lighthouses are such well-loved symbols of the Christians relationship with Christ. All believers, from all generations, have experienced these treasured aspects of an intimate relationship with Jesus.

I say this because in bad times there is a sure guarantee easily observable again and again in Scripture (And we all know how much I rely on Scripture) and that is that God always brings good out of bad (1 Peter 1:7-12), even out of bad times. That means (to me) that anyone (including me) hanging all one’s hopes on God in bad times has made a smart move. That one will be anchored in Jesus and guided, protected and rescued by the light of His person, His love and His faithfulness.

As Dr. Charles Stanley of Atlanta says in In Touch Magazine, Early Light, November 3, 2010:

“As we realize God brings benefit from our adversities, we’ll begin to face challenging times with confidence that He always has our best interest in mind. This leads to joy, because we know He is building our endurance, purifying our hearts, and making us people with unshakeable trust in Him.”

To be continued: