A few years ago, my friend, Bud, and I went out on the Potomac River south of Washington, D. C.  Our intention was to go down river a few miles to a crab house, but the wind became so strong that we could not dock safely at the crab house, so we decided to return to the marina.  The Potomac widens to about three miles in this area, so the wind has room to kick up.   Our boat is a cruiser with a flying bridge and a canvas Bimini, so there is sufficient bulk for the wind to impact the steerage of the boat.  We estimated the wind at 35 to 40 miles per hour with white caps everywhere. 

I said to Bud, a good Christian brother, that we needed to start praying because the wind would hit us broadside as soon as we started to turn into the alleyway of the marina, causing us to crash into the boats adjacent to our slip.  We started praying, “Lord Jesus, you calmed the wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee; calm these winds. (Luke8:22-25)   The wind did not abate.   I asked Bud to go down to the stern with a boat hook (pole) to try to keep us from being blown into other boats.  We both kept praying, “Jesus, calm the wind, Jesus calm the wind!”  The wind kept blowing. 

As we approached the alleyway, I told Bud, “I need to come in fast to control the boat in the wind.”  I was so focused on controlling the boat and yelling instructions at Bud, I didn’t notice what was happening.  Bud yelled back, “Bill, the wind has stopped!” I proceeded into the alleyway, pivoted the boat, and backed into the slip without any difficulty.  As soon as we tied up and secured everything, the wind resumed its fury.

There are many ways we can experience high winds in life – a spouse or child who is critically ill, the loss of a job, a life-threatening illness, a boss who cannot be satisfied, a child who struggles making friends, the backbiting of a competitive work colleague, the birth of a child with a disability, a tax deficiency notice from the IRS — the list is long and varied.  Jesus is available to calm the high winds, whatever form they take. 

Do you call on Jesus when you encounter the high winds in your life?     

God gives each of us a lease of time in this physical world with varying durations.  He entrusts us with various talents.  He puts people in our lives.  He has a job or work that is to be our contribution to furthering his creation.  He expects some fruit to come from his lease to us.  For me and many of us, any review of our lives will likely produce a mixed report with both positive and negative fruit.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares the Parable of the Tenants. “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time.” (Luke 20:9) At harvest time he sent his servants and subsequently his son to collect some of the fruit, but the tenants beat the servants and killed the son, claiming the vineyard for themselves,  

The response of the vineyard owner was harsh.  He killed the tenants and gave the vineyard to others.  The chief priests to whom Jesus was telling the parable realized that Jesus was talking about them.

Recently I was rereading “Notes from Your Family” in honor of a certain birthday from a couple of years ago.  The notes were from my wife, my children, their spouses, and their children.  In their notes, they shared various memories of when I spent time with them individually or when we did things together as a family, or extended family involving the grandchildren.  Many of the memories were when the children or grandchildren were young, playing a game, taking a hike, building something, making a trail through the woods, teaching them to fish, time on the boat, or times when we were all together at a beach house.

Some of these moments I had forgotten, but they had not.  While I may not have realized it at the time, these various times were given to me by God in my lease from him.  Some of them were bearing fruit and may have contributed in some small way to where our children and their children are today. 

Time, spouse, children, grandchildren, work, friends, ministry and faith — all are part of the lease God gives to each of us. All are precious seeds waiting to bear fruit for the Lord under our tenancy.

What kind of tenant have you been of God’s lease to you?

In my 38-year career with a large oil company I saw a number of good men who experienced success, only to see a pride build up in them that led to overreach in the exercise of their authority and subsequent downfall.  I too, struggled at times with pride in how I related to others, and in allowing my position to define who I was.

Even the disciples, James and John, sought the position of sitting at Jesus’ right and left. The others became indignant, but Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant…For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mk. 10:43, 45) The reason Jesus said it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man into the Kingdom of God is because of the pride that often accompanies wealth and worldly success.

I have learned so much about humility from our daughter, Emily who has Down syndrome.  She does not presume any special position, only to love her family and friends and to experience our love in return. 

One of the problems with how we handle success is its definition.  The world views success in terms of position, authority, power, and wealth, while God views success in terms of whether we are fulfilling his will in our lives.  He urges us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”  If our focus is on seeking God’s will, we might be better able to handle success however it is defined and in whatever form it takes. 

A friend gave me a Litany of Humility which I sometimes recite during morning prayer. 

“O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, deliver me from the desire of being esteemed, loved, extolled, honored, praised, consulted or approved.  Deliver me from the fear of being humiliated, despised, forgotten, ridiculed or wronged.  Grant me the grace to desire that others might be loved more, esteemed more, chosen, praised, preferred, and become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should.”

How do you deal with success and pride in your life?

Several years ago, three of my daughters and I were water skiing in Uncle Tut’s boat when the outboard motor conked out.  He tried to start it several times, he fiddled with several adjustments, but nothing seemed to work.  It was getting late in the day.  There were no other boaters in the area.  He had no VHS radio, and it was a time before cell phones.  We just sat there unable to get back to the landing.  I started to silently pray that the motor would start.  Uncle Tut kept pulling at the starter cord, but nothing happened. 

I got a sense that I needed to pray out loud so Uncle Tut and my daughters could hear me.  As Tut was giving it another yank, I shouted, “Lord Jesus, start the engine!”  Varoom, the motor started right up.  Uncle Tut, who loved to tell stories, told this story for years – how my prayer started his outboard motor when nothing else could. 

Faith is incomplete without some kind of action.  We need to act on our faith for it to have an effect.  It usually requires that we be willing to risk failure, embarrassment, or disappointment. 

Have you noticed how often Jesus says to someone, “your faith has healed [saved] you?”  We see it with the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years. She pushed through a crowd encircling Jesus, hoping only to touch his cloak.  She said, “’If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”  Jesus, feeling power go out of him, turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” (Matthew 9:21-22)

We see it with Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, who the crowd attempted to silence as he cried out to Jesus who was passing by. (Mark 10:46-52)    We see it in the friends of a paralytic as they went to the extraordinary efforts of taking him up on a roof and lowering him down through the tiles in the middle of a crowd to get him to Jesus. (Luke 5:18-26)

In each of these instances it was the actions that people took based on their faith that brought forth a favorable response from Jesus.   

Every day we have opportunities to act on our faith.  If we see a questionable business practice, our faith in Christ should enable us to speak up for integrity.  If someone needs to talk, our faith should be willing to listen, and if the friend is discouraged, our faith should motivate us to provide encouragement.  If we see a need for healing, our faith should be willing to offer to pray with the person.  If we need healing, our faith should be willing to ask others to pray with us.  

Are you willing to act on your faith?