Ordinary Time 
Pause
Everyone goes through storms. Some are a natural occurrence in life, and some are put upon us. But sometimes, it seems that as soon as you’re through one storm, another one is just over the horizon.
What gets us through these storms? For seafarers out on the ocean, it’s navigation equipment. GPS, compass, and satellite. What equipment do we use to navigate through life’s storms?
Whatever problems you may be dealing with this week, trust in the tools that God has given us to navigate this unpredictable life: the love of family and friends, the wisdom of Scripture, and the guiding force of the Holy Spirit.
Listen
Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships, making their living on the high seas. They saw what the Lord had made; they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea. God spoke and stirred up a storm that brought the waves up high. The waves went as high as the sky; they crashed down to the depths. The sailors’ courage melted at this terrible situation. They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk. None of their skill was of any help.
Psalm 107:23-27
Think
There is nothing so awe-inspiring as the ocean.
I served for one year as a chaplain for Mission to Seafarers, an Anglican charity that ministers specifically to seafarers — or as today’s readings would put it: those who “had gone out on the ocean in ships, making their living on the high seas.”
Part of the job entailed that I climb up on their ships in the middle of the ocean and visit with seafarers to talk about faith. I remember standing with many of them out on the railings of the ships looking out at the vast expanse of water that was before us. Although we were on massive ships nearly two city-blocks in length, we still felt small there in the middle of the mighty sea that God created.
It’s easy to confuse the mighty works of God with the mere works of humans. We humans are capable of creating massive structures and complex machines. Humans are equally capable of unimaginable acts of hatred and destruction. However, it is in inspecting nature — “his wondrous works in the depths of the sea” — that we remember that God is always more powerful and loving than anything we might imagine.
Will Bryant
Pray
Mighty Lord, you have power over the world and all that is in it. And you have granted me the ability to work and think for myself. Whether I encounter joy or sorrow, help me to use this knowledge to further your purposes here on Earth so that I might spread your message of love and peace to all people. Amen.
Go
“Oh what good is it to live with nothing left to give?
Forget but not forgive, not loving all you see? [...]
You belong with me,
Not swallowed in the sea.”
Coldplay, 2005, “Swallowed in the Sea”
