Comments on: All Your Waves and Breakers Have Washed Over Me

By: Dee Brestin

Dee Brestin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:13:54 +0000

You’ve done a beautiful job with rich sharing.

On Deep calls to Deep, the prevailing thought, which you caught, was the deep voice of God speaking deep into our souls. When that happens, there is no ocean so deep that His love is not deeper still.

By: Tammy Luccioni

Tammy Luccioni — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:37:37 +0000

Renee is my middle name and I feel a kindred spirit with you. Do you know it is French and means reborn?
Keep surrendering your grief to our Comforter. Last year @ this time I was being tossed about by the waves of grief. The days I could not even open the Word I played my DVD of Max McClean reading the Bible. I would lay on the bed and let God’s Word soothe me. Many a night I would go to sleep listening to the DVD and I found that when I did I had a restful night. If I didn’t stay focused on the Word my mind would be bombarded by terrible things. I kept running to God and facing each day even when I didn’t want to. God knew how hard certain days were going to be for me so He sent me company in the form of a poodle named Zach. His owners were going away on an overseas trip and asked me if I would take care of him. God sent Zach to give me a reason to get up out of bed each morning for 10 days. He knew those 10 days would be the time I would be pounded by the waves of grief and depression. I was reading an entry in my 2009 prayer journal just yesterday. I wrote “Feb 19 2009. In bed listening to Max McClean. Zach is laying beside me. It’s his last day with me. His job is done.” God always provides what we need even before we know we need it.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:26:06 +0000

Janet, you give such wonderful, wise insights. You bring up the point of predictability.
Yes, waves and breakers, or pain, loss, grief, suffering, is predictable part of this life here on earth.
Yet, the Lord’s love is also continual and predictable, as the high and low tide of the ocean day after day after day…..

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:19:09 +0000

I watched the movie, “The Hiding Place”, about Corrie and Betsie in the Nazi prison camp. It is so powerful.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:15:55 +0000

I like what you said, Renee. I too think, after working through the questions and reading the Scripture, “okay, now how do I apply this to my life? How do I work this out? How to really put it into practice so I can grow and mature spiritually?” The next time a wave of grief hits me, will I turn to the Psalms and talk to my soul and to the Lord?
Or will I just get busy doing something to distract myself?
Or back away from God?

Keep going, Renee!! Get it into your heart!!!

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:34:22 +0000

That’s where I got mine too. I get their emails also. Another good book about the persecuted church is a novel by Randy Alcorn called Safely Home. Also Heavenly Man which is not a novel.

By: Dee Brestin

Dee Brestin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:01:08 +0000

I do think it is helpful to look back at other storms in our life and see how God rescued or sustained us, for it helps us still our soul in this storm. Would love to hear your testimonies. I have many in The God of All Comfort. Would love to hear yours!

By: Dee Brestin

Dee Brestin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:00:39 +0000

Good. I think that’s why the psalmist keeps talking to his soul — he finds a peace, then another billow comes, then he talks to his soul again — all the way into Psalm 43.

By: Dee Brestin

Dee Brestin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:58:04 +0000

We are so glad you are with us Tracy. You add so much!

By: Renee

Renee — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:08:37 +0000

2. Once again, I decided to read Psalm 42 before going to bed— this time, because I was anxious (and it’s convenient for me to grab my laptop and go to biblegateway.com). I automatically get “wound up” when I spend time with certain combinations of people, and this happened again today (avoidance isn’t always an option).

Psalm 42: 5 and 11 (ESV) say “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

The word “turmoil” describes the state of my soul for most of the afternoon and evening. The reason my soul was/is in turmoil is because (1) I was putting my hope in other people by being too concerned about what they might think of me (similar to what the psalmist expressed in vs 9 and 10), and (2) I was putting my hope in others who were in as much turmoil as I was because we could “look bad” together. But hoping in others has been contributing to the turmoil. I will always become anxious in the company of certain people if my main concern is to have them like me, especially if doing “right” is not what they want me to do.

In this situation, these waves that return over and over (and wear me out) are finally driving me to the One I do want to please. And studying this psalm, experiencing the power of the word of God, is drawing me closer to Him. I really can see that I will hope in God and “shall again praise Him.”

God’s faithfulness to me and gentleness to me was evident in that He allowed me to experience this situation today (a couple of hours ago, I viewed this VERY differently!). By going through this (troubling, but relatively minor) recurring situation today, I’m (just barely) starting to see that I can also trust Him in the face of more painful and significant loss (and even yesterday, I couldn’t begin to comprehend trusting Him with the grief I’m experiencing).