Hope and a Future: A Bridge Over Dark Waters

In those dark days, I cried out, didn’t think I could survive, exist or be anything but numb. I reached out for the hand of God — the hand of salvation from generations past, from my past, my hope, and my future — and wondered where was the firm hand of faith and love?

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read of belief, doubt, fear, and salvation all rolled into a few seconds. While crossing the Sea, the disciples looked across the dark waters of the turbulent sea and were afraid. Through the waves and wind, they saw a figure, familiar but not clear. They feared a ghost, but it was Jesus the man, the Lord, who called out to them to have no fear. Peter believed, climbed out of the boat, and began to walk toward him. For a moment, he was safe in his belief and the memories of Jesus’ miracles. Then the reality of this world — the waves, wind, the danger — engulfed him and he begins to sink. He cried out in fear as the dark waters pulled him down. ‘“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, “why did you doubt?”’

We have been created mortal. Life is both fragile and resilient. The people around us, and ourselves, carry the seeds of good and evil, hate and love, faith, and fear. There will be troubled waters. We need a bridge, sometimes unseen in the fog of the storm, to cross over to dry land in this life and the next.

Psalm 77 calls out to God, seeks rescue in the scriptures, and meditates over them. Even while seeking comfort within, there is a real fear and doubt. By the end of the poem, the writer returns to the scripture and to faith and finds comfort that only God can deliver. How very familiar, so very human. Even in our faith and with our holy texts, we can experience moments of doubt and fear. A darkness, a depression, creeps and overwhelms. Like Peter crying out of the deep water, we reach out for the hand of the Lord. There are sometimes, many times, that real-life requires the hand of God, even as we doubt.

Join us Sunday as we reach out together for the hand of the Lord and remember the past, present, and promised future of life in Christ our Lord.

May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with You.

Pastor Rick