Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. - Psalm 136:1
When was the last time you used the word “billow” in conversation? It doesn’t come up often with me, either. Except when my wife gets a cold during the night and asks me to get her another “billow, blease.”
A billow is defined by dictionary.com as a great wave or surge of the sea, which must be true because it was on the internet. It could also be used to refer to any surging mass, such as a billow of smoke. You probably knew that. It’s just not a word we use very often. We’re not really sea people around here.
But we can all understand the metaphor of the tumultuous experiences of life being like the great billows of the sea. You may be sailing along just fine upon the surface of quiet waters, when suddenly a storm arises that rocks your world and threatens to throw you overboard. Ever been there?
The death of a loved one. Divorce. Cancer. Depression. The company’s downsizing. Your son calls you from the county jail. The list could go on. The coffee pot’s on the blink.
How do you handle such billows in your life? Where do you go for answers? In whom do you find comfort? Can you make it through the next wave?
There are at least three great hymns of the faith that remind us of God’s goodness and power in the midst of the billows we all face.
One is called “Love Lifted Me.” The third stanza reads:
Souls in danger, look above
Jesus completely saves
He will lift you by His love
Out of the angry waves
He’s the Master of the sea
Billows His will obey
He your Savior wants to be
Be saved today
The billows are no match for the might of the Lord. No matter how high the storm surges, its waves can never overwhelm those whose trust is in the saving power of Christ Jesus. Remember the storm the disciples faced on the open sea? And you remember what happened when Jesus literally rebuked the wind and spoke to the waves saying, “Peace! Be still!” Immediately there was a great calm. Billows His will obey.
Another is the moving story penned by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873. I don’t have room to flesh out the details, but in the wake of the drowning deaths of Spafford’s four daughters, the Lord inspired him to write:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul
Somehow in the midst of this unimaginable tragedy, God flooded Spafford’s soul with a peace that passes all understanding. The Lord never says we won’t face sorrows like sea billows, but He promises He will be with us even through the valley of the shadow of death. And the power of His very presence provides peace for our soul.
Then there’s the song we often sing around Thanksgiving entitled, “Count Your Blessings.” This has always been for me a tremendously encouraging hymn. It’s easy to get down, discouraged, frustrated and burdened with the cares of the world, whether they be thrust upon you or self-inflicted. But when we stop even for a moment and think about the blessings God has poured out upon us, we wonder why we should grumble at all.
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done
So go ahead and start counting! This Thanksgiving remember that the answer for dealing with life’s billows lies in the power and goodness of Almighty God.
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