Water Water Everywhere

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ne of my favorite movies of all time is The Hunt for Red October, a movie based on the Tom Clancy novel by the same name. The story is rather straightforward.  During the height of the Cold War a Russian admiral decides to defect to the United States.  The whole thing is complicated by the fact that the admiral has stolen the latest and most advanced submarine in the fleet and intends to turn it over to the United States when he defects. His actions prompt the Soviets to track him down with the goal of destroying him while theUnited States desperately tries to locate him and give him political asylum. 

In order to avoid detection, the Russian admiral orders his crew to take the submarine to great depths. As they descend, the vessel moans and groans as it acclimates to the pressure changes it encounters on the way down.  The deeper the vessel sinks, the greater the pressure on the outside hull.  Although the submarine makes noises, the metal skin holds, protecting the men inside.  They go about their business, knowing they are safe within the protective arms of the submarine.

The Christian life is exactly like this and the Apostle Paul knew it only too well.  After his conversion to Christianity, Paul had several opportunities to experience the kind of persecution he himself had inflicted on the followers of Jesus.  He was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, rejected, and hunted throughout his life.  He knew what it was like to be tired.  He knew what it was like to be in great pain.  He knew what it was to have plenty and he also knew what it was like to live with nothing. Paul understood the pressures and the demands that walking with Jesus can require of his followers. And he was all too glad to suffer all things for the cause of Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, Paul shares his faith and confidence in Christ with his readers.  He writes,“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”  What a resounding statement of faith this is.  Paul wants his readers to understand that we are simply jars of clay.  Paul wants them to understand that whatever is accomplished in his life, it is accomplished by the Spirit and the power of God.

But notice the wonderful list of opposites that follows.  Paul says that he is hard pressed from every direction.  The mounting pressures of life are all around him.  There are those who seek his life and there are those in the churches he founded who are doing their best to cause upheaval and discord.  Yet, Paul is not crushed.  He finds it difficult to understand the why’s and how’s of his situations but he is not in despair.  Even in persecution he clings tight to Jesus’ promise never to leave or forsake his own and although he is struck down again and again, Paul refuses to be destroyed!

This is the life of faith and of confidence in Jesus Christ.  This is what it means to come to the end of one’s self and to know that no matter what happens we are resting safely in the hand of God.  Like sailors hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean where the crushing pressure of the water is at its greatest, the all powerful hand of our God keeps and protects those who are firmly rooted and established in Him. 

We can never know just how strong God’s love and care for us are unless we plummet to great depths and endure great pressure.  When the walls of your heart moan, when you feel as if you can’t go any further, and when your prayers seem no more than mere whispers, that is when God’s presence, His power, His strength, and His love are the most evident.  Pressed on every side we may be, but we are still afloat!!!