Our family beach trip is a tradition we all look forward to every summer. Over the last few years, we’ve been to Wilmington, NC, Saint Simon Island and Tybee Island, Georgia, Saint Augustine, Florida and North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, not in that order.
This year landed us at Fripp Island, a place of natural beauty, near Port Royal Sound in southeastern South Carolina. This land of abundant wildlife features long stretches of beach and picturesque marsh land.
Speaking of wildlife, the deer aren’t afraid of humans. Every morning they’d come up to our house looking for their breakfast of cereal, handed out by our grandkids.
We took walks along the surf, rode bikes, explored the island on a golf cart and attended a beach worship service. We celebrated our four August birthdays, played games, enjoyed the surf, played disc golf, and went out to eat.
And we rested; my favorite part.
From the comments I’ve gotten, we all feel as if our time at Fripp was one of our best yet.
But, our time was not without its share of significant troubles. We had a jelly fish bite, a tic bite, a dog bite, and my son-in-law’s golf cart broke down. And, to top it all off, I had a near life altering eye injury, spending the last few hours of our vacation in emergency rooms and on an operating table in Charleston.
The trip was a true microcosm of life. Troubles happen. Try as we might, some difficulties can’t be avoided. It may sound strange, but the problems we faced, and the way we loved each other through them, added to the depth and quality of our time together.
The troubles weren’t the main thing. The fellowship was the focus. The difficulties did not destroy what we experienced. In fact, they gave opportunities for expressions of love which would not have been possible without the hard times.
I want to take the richness of our beach experience and see what I can apply to all of life and the troubles we face.
After all, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33 NASB)“
I am With You
On the night before He was crucified, Jesus had a lot to say to His disciples about taking courage. Even though he was leaving them physically, His Holy Spirit would be their constant companion. Following are a couple of examples.
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (John 14:16-20 NASB)
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:26-27 NASB)
Jesus is with us. He’s commanded us to take courage, to not let our hearts be troubled, to embrace His peace and to not be fearful.
Our trials are not a surprise to God. He is at work in them for His greater purposes. God is conforming us into the image of Christ. [1] He is freeing us from the need to rely on the world for our joy, [2] showing us that He Himself is our Great Reward [3] and our Highest Joy [4].
God reigns over every difficulty in our lives. He uses them to produce endurance and to loosen our grip on the illusion of worldly satisfaction. [5]
The Lord desires for us to turn to Him for comfort, strength, courage, and peace during every trial.
Challenge
Our troubles don’t have to be our focus.
Sure, we have problems to solve, but God is always with us. He places people around us to love and care for us. And, when we call Him near, He infuses us with everlasting peace, joy and love in our temporal troubles.
King David wrote Psalm 63 while in the wilderness of Judah. Some scholars believe it was written while he was fleeing from his own son Absalom, who had taken up arms against him.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, in a very low spot in his life, he penned the following verses. Read them slowly and ask the Holy Spirit to soothe your heart with the realities of God’s truth, written for us today in our wildernesses.
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You. (Psalm 63:1-3 NASB)
God’s love and care for us is eternal. Him being with us is literally better than life itself.
Knowing, and living, in this incredible truth keeps us from being tossed to-and-fro by every wave of circumstance.
You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3 NIV)
Prayer
Dear Father God, my King and my Lord,
Thank You that Your presence and Your great love sustain us in all of life.
Please protect me from ever trying to forge out a way of life based on the circumstances and happenings around me. I trust and believe that You, and Your merciful love toward me, are better than life itself.
As I truly grasp the significance of this, I’m filled with the courage which comes from Your nearness.
I love You Lord.
Amen.
[1] Romans 8:28-29
[2] John 8:36
[3] Genesis 15:1
[4] Psalm 16:11b
[5] James 1:2-4
Other posts in our series In The Moments:
Please Check out the Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.
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