Psalm 107:23-32–23)Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, 24)They see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. 25)For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26)They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble, 27)They reel to and fro like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 28)Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. 29)He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. 30)Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven. 31)Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32)Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, and praise Him in the company of the elders.

Like the sailors in this Psalm, at some point you will hit great turbulence in your life. Perhaps you are currently experiencing a storm with no end in sight. Your situation may be so serious that you wonder how you’ll ever get through it. You’ve tried everything possible to resolve the matter, but to no avail.

The solution is to do exactly what these sailors did–cry to the Lord in your trouble (v.28). He is sovereign over storms and uses them for His good purposes. God knows we sometimes need to reach the end of our own resources before we will turn to Him. When we call out to the Lord and submit to His authority over the storm, He will calm the waves in His perfect timing and guide us to safety.

The goal is not simply to escape turmoil but to learn to depend on the Lord instead of ourselves. Trusting Him to handle what we cannot will ultimately lead to gladness, thanks, and praise for His lovingkindness and intervention on our behalf. Another wonderful result will be that we tell others how faithful God has been, so they can trust Him, too.