Teague Bible Church

Help! I Am In A Large Body of Water In A Small Boat! Psalms 143

Only since 1994 have I become a lake person. In that year I was
“immersed” into the boating and fishing world. In a storm on a large lake you want the longest boat you can get. I had barely survived a storm in a 14′ boat once; very frightening, and the most dreaded, helpless feeling I had ever experienced!
But I have also felt the comfort that comes from being in a similar storm in a 21′ boat. A world of difference! We do not have the option of not going out into the water on stormy days; we have the option of lengthening our boat.
“Soak up” if you will all of Psalms 143 today. David had a habit of loving the Lord by staying in His word, and meditating and applying His Word, before he found himself in troubled and violent waters. He did much more than get the facts of the Word and walk away falsely thinking, “O.K. I know what it says, now what is next?”
He took the best part of his day (143:8) and set the length of his boat. The longer the boat the smoother the ride, the safer the ride, the better the hope of arriving safely onto the shore.
Psalms 143: 5-6 shows how to lengthen the boat. Mediate and muse on God’s Word. Slow down and think it through. Do you approach life this way?
A great New Testament passage for this lengthening of your boat is John 17: 1-5. The main part of our entire life, temporal and eternal, is to get to know the God whom we will be knowing for all eternity. We have to learn that while navigating dark and deep waters. The length of the boat is the most important thing.
We are so worried about being in the right place at the right time, in a “navigatorial” sense. That is O.K., but not as important as being the right person in any situation in which we find ourselves. You could be in the right place; but if in a short boat, you simply will sink into the blue. Wherever you “land” today you will have landed successfully by arriving in a longer boat.
Psalms 143: 10-11 “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me onto level ground, for the sake of Your name. Oh Lord, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.” JWP