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I recently went to the beach. I loved the waves crashing against me as I tried to stand firm. I loved the wind hitting me in the face as I tried to avoid being worn down. I loved the sun beating down on me as I slowly burnt, but what I mostly loved was standing in the power of God’s presence.

I watched surfers being turned over, people fighting the undertow, and all the usual go on. It was a stark reminder of God’s power. At any given moment I could be pulled under and dragged away. At any given moment somebody, including me, could be pulled out to sea.

All of this reminded me of how we are not in control and God is in charge of everything. The sea, the air, the land, our health, our jobs, our relationships are all under his command.

It’s nice to think from time to time that we have all of this life (work, relationships, etc.) under our control. It makes us feel better. It makes us feel powerful. It makes us think we are in command of our own lives.

But then the winds change, the tides change, and life starts pulling us under. We cry out, we reach out, and when things get too rough, we ask for something, somebody, anybody to grasp our hand or hands and pull us out.

Sometimes life comes along and reminds us we need something more. For the Christian we reach out to God (or we should). For the non-Christian they reach out to whomever will grasp their hand and pull them through.

It is my hope that for the Christian we never stop reaching out to God through Jesus Christ to pull us through, to sustain us, to keep us safe and moving forward. It is my hope that for the non-Christian that they reach out to God through Jesus Christ for their salvation, as opposed to any other resource that may do the same thing, but not through our risen Savior.

Psalm 50:14-15 reads as follows: Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

That’s just one passage, there are many more. Turn it over to God, trust in God and follow God’s direction and you will be OK. It might hurt sometimes, it may be hard sometimes, it may require faith sometimes, but try it.

You can roll the dice, you will take the doctor’s word, you will believe the person at the register when they say they don’t have coins. Why not simply hand it over to God, roll the dice on God and see what comes up?

He controls the oceans, the winds, the land. He is God of all. He woke you up this morning so why not trust him as Lord of all your problems?

REV. BARRY VASSAR is pastor at Fitzgerald Memorial Baptist. He can be reached at fitzgeraldmemorial@gmail.com.