Titanic: Immense, Gigantic, Colossal, Mammoth…

Gripped by an immense fear in his heart; his frantic eyes were scanning the dark, and icy horizon looking for the help that would surely come. A frigid, wet death was rising to meet him each agonizing minute that passed, and to his fragile senses his life was segmented in horrendous seconds, each one breathtakingly vital to his survival. The unsinkable queen of the ocean,“man’s” floating wonder; the great and famous ship the “Titanic” had failed him. Thoughts of family and home were swiftly fading as he turned to desperate cries for heaven’s help, would his Father, God, fail him too? Where were faith, hope and love at this moment?

Suddenly a windstorm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink. Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?” Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm. Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don’t you have any faith?” Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41 (CEV)

He screamed his prayers into the black night, and they lashed back at him as gigantic empty echoes. Where were faith, hope, and love? Where was the one who could calm the giant waves, and still the pull of the “deep?”

Where was the source of his faith?

I asked the Lord for help, and he saved me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 (CEV)
The eternal God is our hiding place; he carries us in his arms. Deuteronomy 33:27a (CEV)

Until a man takes his last breath, there is hope, and tonight, a colossal anticipation filled him, even though he knew he was held captured in a death’ grip. “I can see; I can feel; I am here! Save me.”

Where was the source of his hope?

From a sea of troubles I call out to you, Lord. Won’t you please listen as I beg for mercy? If you kept record of our sins, no one could last long. But you forgive us, and so we will worship you. With all my heart, I am waiting, Lord, for you! I trust your promises.
Psalm 130:1-5 (CEV)
(It is) Christ Jesus, who gives us hope. 1 Timothy 1:1b CEV

A mammoth desire for proof of the Lord’s love overwhelmed him, as time was frozen in the air, mimicking the bitter flow below.

Where was source of his love?

He (God) will quiet you with his love. Zephaniah 3:17c (NIV)
I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won’t be afraid. You are with me. Psalm 23:4 (CEV)

Prayers of despair are still offered every day; we may find ourselves hanging on to the precipice between this side of eternity and the other, facing our own Titanic. Possibly, we have a date with destiny we are not ready for, or perhaps not an imminent death by drowning in a black and icy sea, but drowning from the ills of life; physical pain; loss of love; desperate times, or from a mind that no longer holds our thoughts together. Endings must still be faced whether it is leaving our earthly bodies, the death of dreams, or of losing one’s “loves” to the short but sure reach of the grave. As it is experienced, life, will offer many crises that must be faced, and if caught in a weak moment it could cause one to voice the question; where is my faith, my hope, and my love?

In truth, they are as close as one’s own pulse that throbs within ; they are a person, one who indwells the hearts of the children of God. Our desire is to welcome his Holy Spirit; his is to—due to his amazing love— fulfill promises of salvation and hope…as written in his Holy Word:

For God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never REALLY die. John 3:16*
Jesus replied, “I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
“God blesses those people who grieve.” Matthew 5:4
“If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Then Jesus said “Don’t be afraid!” Matthew 28:10a
“I will be with you always, even to the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20

He rescues his own by sharing his peace, you know the one, the one that passes all understanding.

But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in the fear of dying. Hebrews: 2:15

We are a-sea in this life with no promises of smooth sailing, but we have been given a star who guides us through uncharted waters of the night; He is the captain of our soul, our main-stay, our life boat, our unsinkable trust; our anchor, propeller and mast. He is the ocean we ride upon; the salt of the sea; he is our watch during the night; the shore that awaits us, and our destiny.
~
I pray… no fear! Thank you, Jesus.