We gazed intently into the dark waters looking for what was ascending toward us. Fear, dread and hope mixed together to create a unique sense of anticipation about what we were about to experience.
We were nearing the end of our efforts. We had tried again and again with no success. Would this be the attempt that would lead to success and freedom from that which had held us captive? Would our frustration, fear and dread finally yield to exhilaration and joy?
This attempt was our final option – we had exhausted all other avenues. If this didn’t work we would either have to go back and keep repeating what had previously not led to success, or we could cut our losses. This could be an expensive lesson in regard to what we would not do next time.
As we strained to discern an indication our efforts had been successful, our fear and dread suddenly turned to euphoria. Our efforts had paid off! We had overcome the odds set against us. We prevailed.
We got our anchor unstuck!
Four men on a 40’ boat. We dropped anchor in a beautiful cove off Gambier Island amidst a number of other anchored vessels. What we did not know was that the bottom of the bay was littered with logging debris and was a bit notorious for snagging anchors.
If you snag an anchor you have a couple of choices. You can attempt to pull the anchor in numerous directions other than the one in which the current and wind have been pushing you. We did this in four directions with no success. It wasn’t budging. In fact, in our efforts to free the anchor we crumpled the anchor pulpit.
We decided to do something prior to our successful attempt to unsnag the anchor. We hadn’t done this on any of the previous attempts. We should have thought of it earlier, but we didn’t.
After much frustration we said, “Hey, let’s pray about this.”
So, we gathered together and simply asked the Lord to help us get unstuck. We were experiencing no success with our human efforts, so we asked the Lord for His assistance.
As we were cruising back to safe harbour with the anchor now securely affixed to our crumpled anchor pulpit, one of the men said, “I don’t think I would have prayed about that. I would have just done what I thought needed to be done and thanked God if I was successful.”
His honesty sparked a conversation about how we can simply pound through situations without praying. We often don’t invite the Lord into the challenges we’re facing. Not because we want to exclude the Lord, but simply because we don’t really think of asking for help. We just try to figure it out.
We often wonder, “Does God even care about this?”
Even as I am writing this article my i-phone is non-functional. I am doing everything I can to update the software, reboot and refresh the system, talk to Apple to figure out what is going on, search for how I wipe out and restart my system, but have I prayed? No. Why not?!
I’m just trying to figure it out.
Does God care? He cares about us and, therefore, cares about the things that impact us. Is he bothered if we invite Him into these kind of situations? I don’t think so.
However, He is not a vending machine God – press D3 for what we want when we want it. He sees far more than we see. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. He wants us to live life in Him, communing with Him, seeing from His perspective; from a broader, Godly, Kingdom perspective.
So, in the midst of your simple challenges, like our anchor scenario, it’s totally appropriate to ask the Lord to help you see things from His perspective, to ask for wisdom and strength to do what needs to be done, and to ask for His divine intervention.
We can cast our cares on Him because he cares for us.
Is it ok to pray? Absolutely – far more often than you may think.
1 Peter 5:7
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
James 4:2b, 3
“You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
Ephesians 6:18
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”