After an emotionally difficult day yesterday, I woke up this morning asking God for a clear word of encouragement. My prayers for a diagnosis of my new symptoms now had been answered, and an effective treatment plan was starting. But the answer was a bit overwhelming. 

I have dealt with chronic illness for over forty years, but up until now most of my diagnoses have been orthopedic or neurological, difficult to live with but not life-threatening. Yesterday, I was diagnosed with diastolic dysfunction, a cardiac condition in which the heart loses its flexibility and ability to move the blood out of the heart and around the body. Left untreated, this can lead to heart failure. I had now moved into a whole new area of chronic illness.

I needed to see what I learned yesterday from God’s perspective. My daily Bible reading passage hadn’t given me what I needed, so I cried out to God in prayer for a clear word that would help me see my current trials as He sees them. The Lord answered my prayer with a simple phrase: “I am your safe harbor.”  

Usually when I sense God speaking to my heart, a familiar verse of Scripture comes to mind. This time was different. I couldn’t remember any Bible verses that specifically spoke of God as a safe harbor. So I did a search using the YouVersion Bible app that I’ve been using this year for the 2-year Life Application Bible devotional and reading plan. This plan uses the New Living Translation, which is new to me, and I didn’t change the version on my search parameters, so the following verses came up as the ones closest to the phrase I had entered.

The parallel to my current situation was clear:

• I needed help!
• I was crying out to God in my trouble, my distress, just as those in these verses had done.
• I knew the truth of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” and I was asking God to still my emotions so I could hear His voice.
• He alone had the power to “calm the storm to a whisper and still the waves” crashing over me.
• He could bring me “safely into harbor” – in fact, He is my SAFE HARBOR.

I don’t know what you are currently facing in your life. But let me reassure you that Jesus Christ is also your SAFE HARBOR. Our proper response to the truth is found in the next two verses, Psalm 107:31-32. 

                           “Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 

                              Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.”

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