Calm as the Sea

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:15-21 ESV).

I grew up on Galveston Island. It is just over three miles wide and merely twenty-seven miles tip to tip in length. Our house, which was built above our grocery store, was ten blocks from the beach. It was an easy bike ride and often visited. While I prefer the mountains for a peaceful moment today, I still remember with great fondness the wonder of the Gulf. Now, that is not to say it did not have times of storm and tempest. We lived through the third most destructive hurricane in US history. However, it is much as Wayne Muller has said: “Even in the middle of a hurricane, the bottom of the sea is calm. As the storm rages and the winds howl, the deep waters sway in gentle rhythm, a light movement of fish and plant life. Below there is no storm.” There is a peace and calm about that depth. The Apostle Paul reminds us of the power of God to bring calm to our hearts and minds in his prayer today. He asks that God will open, or enlighten, the eyes of our hearts that we may “know him better,” have “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” and know the hope of all that God promises to us. With hearts open to the wonder of all that God has done, we are empowered by his Spirit to live faithfully for him, as Jesus did. When we are open to God’s working in and through our lives, we are like a blank page on which he writes his poetry, an empty canvas on which he works his artistry, softened clay with which he molds his vessel. Perhaps the right combination is openheartedness and single-mindedness; perhaps it is that place when our heart and mind are equally devoted to the God of infinite wisdom. William Henry Temple Gairdner, a missionary to Cairo, Egypt, prayed as a young student, “Come in Jesus, and make me brave, retiring, humble, hardy, large-hearted, strenuous, pure, loving.” And then at home briefly in Scotland, he stood on a windswept seawall and asked God to make him “calm, pure, fresh, fragrant, open, and spacious as the sea.” Make that your prayer today!