Same Storm, Different Boats

“We’re in the same storm, but different boats.” 

Someone said this in a recent virtual meeting and it spurs a lot of contemplating for me. This meeting comprised people tuning in from a variety of countries and “boats”, so the meeting itself proved the quote true.

The Pandemic is quite a storm. Across the world we find people in various boats. Some are cruising through in luxury yachts: the results of the Pandemic bringing more benefits than harm to them. Others are in simple row boats, fighting against the current but at least staying afloat and somewhat dry. Others have made it to shore and speak of the Pandemic in past tense. Millions are clinging on to driftwood, gasping for air while watching loved ones go under for the last time.

My Boat

I guess I would say my boat is somewhere in the mid-range. I’m not sailing through with skill and ease, but my head’s not going under either. It must be a engine-less boat I am in—because I’m rowing with a couple of cumbersome oars. I have to say, my shoulders are quite weary. 

Our host-country is beginning a new set of lockdowns, and after a year of so many versions that leave all of us confused and discouraged, it is hard to swallow another lockdown pill. It’s hard to find that silver lining in the cloudy skies, that little gold nugget in the arid soil.

Choose Joy

James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us through Scripture (James 1:2-4) to “count it all joy”. 

Hmmm, that seems difficult to do here in my rickety row-boat. But as I look deeper into his words, I see what he’s getting at. This joy is not a happy face painted on the outer edge of a broken heart. This is a reminder of perspective. 

Why joy? 

James tells us why: because the testing of our faith (and that’s what is tested in trials) produces steadfastness (or endurance, or patience, depending on what version you read). I looked up the meaning of the original Greek word that is translated “steadfastness”. According to Strong’s Concordance it means, “the characteristic of a man who is unswerving from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.”

David Guzik, in his commentary on the book of James, says, “This word does not describe a passive waiting but an active endurance. It isn’t so much the quality that helps you sit quietly in the doctor’s waiting room, as it is the quality that helps you finish a marathon.^⁠”

I admit that many times throughout this year I have waited with gritted teeth, as if in line to see the dentist. During those times, the activity on my part has ranged from deep sighs to weary complaints. But, again according to Guzik, the root of this word, “has the picture of someone under a heavy load and choosing to stay there instead of trying to escape^⁠.”

This quality is developed in us when we let our faith be tested. As I face more weeks of lockdowns, my desire is to let the Lord develop in me that inner grit to finish the marathon rather than slumping in a waiting room chair. 

Same Storm

All of us have been in the same storm. Most of us are in different kinds of boats. Rather than comparing whose boat is worse or whose marathon is shorter or longer, let’s encourage one another. Some have even made it to shore, their Pandemic Storm is just about over. Let’s rejoice! Some are headed into the worst of the storm, let’s not forget to pray for them. Don’t begrudge the sojourner on the luxury yacht. Don’t accuse the one clinging to driftwood of being a drama-queen. We’ve all been through a storm even if our boats are different. What’s your boat like?

Find Joy

In whatever storms we encounter in our lives (Pandemic or otherwise), may we hold unswervingly to our “deliberate purpose” of knowing and serving our Loving God. That’s where we can find our joy.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10