The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 107:23-28, “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters;

24 They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep.

25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery.

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses.”

There is no such thing as an accident. Everything that occurs is traceable to the Hand

of the LORD. He is the Creator of all things and the Supreme Authority over all. We view

trouble as an act of nature; but nature has no mind or inherent will. The LORD set certain things in motion at the time of creation, and they continue in motion until He pleases to stop them.

The psalmist uses seafaring men to illustrate his truth. Those who do business by way of the seas have encountered some of life’s greatest tragedies. Who can control the winds that rage against the waters? Storms at sea frighten even the most courageous of men. Their boats rise and fall on the water as the winds increase. Such are the winds’ unexplained achievements – wonders that are so uncontrollable that men stumble and stagger as if they were drunk. They are “at their wits’ end”; they don’t know what to do. They are forced to admit that God alone is their only hope.

Few, if any of us, have ever been in circumstances so dire as the psalmist describes. But we have been in situations where we doubted we would survive. What do we do? Where do we turn for help? It is always to the LORD. Even the one who boasts that there is no god, cries out to God for help in such times. And it is He who brings us out of all of our distresses. Is not our cry to Him for help our acknowledgement of His Authority? Is that cry not an admission that there are no “accidents” in life? If the LORD controls all things, why dose He allow disaster to come upon us? Could it not be that He is forcing us to acknowledge His power and authority?

We would do well to acknowledge Him when there is no calamity surrounding us. Verse 30 reads, “Then they were glad because they (the seas) were quiet; So He guided them to their desired haven.” Meditate on all of this in your heart. Apply the principle of this to your own life. And remember: the LORD is always there for those who are His.

May the LORD bless you always is our prayer,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”