Clay in the Hands

When my wife and I made the move to Corpus Christi in 2015, people told us that the wind blows here every day. My typical response has been, “It blows in west Texas everyday too, the difference is – in west Texas, there is typically dirt in it!” I have to say, they were right. The wind does blow here regularly, and most days I am grateful. With our humidity, if there was no breeze, I am not sure I could handle it.

I am blessed to have an office with a window that looks out over the bay of Corpus Christi. For a boy from the sand dunes of west Texas, it is quite a sight. As I sit here this morning, I notice the waves, driven by the wind. The waves are moving toward the south – meaning, of course, that the wind is blowing from the north. Many days, the waves are moving toward the north or west.

The point is that the waves move different directions because the wind changes directions. The ships, anchored in the Gulf awaiting their turn to make it through the ship channel and into port must deal with these conditions. Without a firm anchor, the ships would drift to who knows where. But a solid hold keeps the ships in place until it is their turn to move.

There is a similarity here to our spiritual journey. Life comes at us from all directions. Things happen on a daily basis that can throw us off course. Like the ships, not only are we pushed by the wind, but also by the currents of our culture.

This Sunday, I will begin a new series titled, Life In Christ, taking a look at Ephesians chapter 2. In the first verse of this chapter, Paul says that prior to surrendering to Jesus, we were “dead” in our sins. He goes on to say in verse three that when that was the case, we were driven by “gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.” The original language here gives the picture of going back and forth and being driven from one thing to another with no direction or purpose – like a ship without an anchor.

But Paul goes on to say, in chapter 2, that we have been spiritually resurrected from the dead through the grace offered by God. Our being brought back to life happens through faith in Jesus. Grace is God’s part and faith is ours. Faith is trusting that Jesus is who he says he is and that he will do what he says he will do. Faith is our anchor and Jesus is the rock to which our anchor holds.

So know this today. If the wind of life is gusting and the currents of culture are pulling, Jesus is the rock you can hold on to.

He alone can hold you firm.