Hurricane Erin is making her presence known along the Outer Banks today. Two days ago, visitors had to evacuate Hatteras Island for fear of high waves and ocean over wash that will make roads impassable for days. While a direct hit is not forecasted, any storm system off our waters creates hazardous conditions for us here on this fragile strip of land. It is often in these times that we see our communities pull together to help one another as we collectively seek safe harbor.

I had an unusual opportunity to offer safety to a total stranger on Monday. A post on our local Colington Harbour Facebook page asked for a safe dock for a large catamaran sailboat that was currently traveling from Annapolis to Hatteras. The decision was made to pull into Colington for the duration of the storm, and the sailor was looking for a place to tie up for a few days. I happen to have a large unused dock, so I quickly offered it. In less than an hour, this beautiful boat was safely secured to my dock. It gave me great joy to share my blessing with them. I too have known the need for safe harbor in my life.

Today’s reading is from Psalm 107. I hope you will take a moment to read it in its entirety today. This beautiful psalm was probably written during or just after the Babylonian exile, when a grateful people were able to return to Israel. It describes four different scenarios of deliverance, from being lost in the wilderness, to those who are imprisoned, to those sick and near death, and finally from those enduring dangerous seas. It is this portion that we will consider today.

Psalm 107 ( Common English Bible)

Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships,
    making their living on the high seas.
²⁴ They saw what the Lord had made;
    they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.
²⁵ God spoke and stirred up a storm
    that brought the waves up high.
²⁶ The waves went as high as the sky;
    they crashed down to the depths.
The sailors’ courage melted at this terrible situation.
²⁷     They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk.
    None of their skill was of any help.
²⁸ So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances.
²⁹ God quieted the storm to a whisper;
    the sea’s waves were hushed.
³⁰ So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down;
    then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.
³¹ Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people.
³² Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people
    and praise God in the assembly of the elders.

Surely this psalm is a great reminder today of God’s faithful love for us. When we cry out to him in a storm, he hears us and rushes to our side. Even in those moments when the ginormous waves threaten to overcome us, God is our safe harbor. Jesus literally commanded with waves and the winds to be still, and he can command the storm of your life to release you if you cry out to him. Are you in desperate circumstances today? God is your safe harbor.

This psalm ends with a reminder to give thanks to our deliverer. Offering God our gratitude for his interventions in our lives is how this story ends. How does your story end? Has God delivered you? Are you still waiting? Give thanks.

Safe Harbour