Three Remarkable Truths That Will Make Your Life More Stable

The first morning of our cruise, I wake with every intention to trial the running track on an open-air deck. It’s Easter–at sea, as it is on land. Soon, the sun will rise, and I want to be present to witness it. But the boat rocks and my stomach reels because I was fine last night so I went to sleep without any anti-nausea medicine. A fixable mistake, but one that will delay my run.

I recline on a chaise lounge chair until I feel more human. The sun makes a gentle, gradual appearance and the sea breeze whips the pages of my Bible as I attempt to read.

Finally, re-strengthened and stable enough to attempt a run, I head to the back of the ship, where an anti-slip path loops past basketball and pickleball and a splash pool. My first steps feel unsteady. Although my legs know the motion, my feet don’t trust the landing. 

Sometimes that’s how life feels–like the solidity is compromised by the sea.

Routine rhythms become daunting.

The automatic becomes unfamiliar.

Muscle memory doesn’t produce the same outcome.

Perhaps it’s grief, your physical health, or some other life disruption that makes the ground gallop beneath you. And it’s all you can do right now to keep putting one foot forward at a time. Here are three truths that will steady you when life feels unstable.

1–“True knowledge  . . . comes from being close to [God]” (Col. 1:10).

When you’re questioning everything you thought you knew—especially when you feel you have nowhere to turn—steady yourself against God. No human-wrought wisdom can compare to the Spirit-insight we glean as we lean on Him.

Instead of fighting to find your way, stay close so you automatically follow in Christ’s footsteps. Every ounce of insight you need for every decision that derails you comes from Him. Your job isn’t to figure it all out but to keep your heart open and your eyes on Jesus.

We learn God’s nature when we are next to Him. Gain perspective when we’re proximate to Him. Hear God’s voice more clearly when we are close to Him.

So when your steps wobble and your strength wanes, turn your attention towards God, your hope and your guide. In Him, you have all the wisdom you need to move forward.

2–Christ “bled peace” right into this reeling world (Col. 1:20). 

God’s peace followed Christ into our not-right world. Paul writes that Jesus “bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—all things in heaven and all things on earth” (Col. 1:20, The Voice).

When the chaos around or inside you nibbles away at your peace, may this truth reassure you: irreversible peace is available. Christ-won peace holds us together when life falls apart, glues us to Him like a bonding agent, and keeps hope aglow. Nothing in all the earth can reverse the access Jesus gave us to peace.

Even when your life implodes, Jesus is the peace that steadies you like an arm to hang onto. 

When you’re reeling from a relationship break, a weighty wrong, or an irreparable loss, Christ is your “rock and . . . deliverance” (Psalm 62:2). 

And when nothing seems certain anymore, the steady peace of God can piece together the places that ache.

3–God gives my feet grace-strength and supernatural skill (Hab. 3:19)

Maybe, like me, you read the allegory Hinds Feet on High Places as a child. A young girl with crippled feet—aptly named Much-Afraid—learns to trust the Chief Shepherd. As He promises, the very feet she’s ashamed of take her to the High Places, where she runs with the swiftness and strength of a deer.

I could have used those sort of feet on day six of our cruise, when the boat had been jostling us around since the previous night. I felt for real sick, and although running typically energizes me, I wasn’t sure I could manage. 

Running onboard as the boat catches strong sideways waves is similar to running hills. You feel first weightless, like gravity bent the rules. But then with the next breath, you feel multiple times your weight. It’s the strangest sensation of floating and bonking.

Although I struggled to keep rhythm, my running app—off-whack by the moving boat—said I was running under three-minute miles. Laughable, yes. But the reality is that we are promised “strength . . . and feet like the feet of a deer [that allow us] to walk on high places” (Hab. 3:19 TV). God supplies grace-strength and supernatural skill to equip us for the places He calls us. Even when—especially when—we feel weak.

Daily Practice That Will One Day Matter 

What I learned from running every morning of our cruise is that the familiar began to feel less foreign. In fact, the motion of running almost seemed to slow the rocking of the boat when the waves were strongest. 

I wasn’t acquiring a new skill, but figuring out how to continue a regularly-practiced one in a different environment.

It makes me think of faith. Rhythms like prayer, Scripture-reading, gratitude, and praise aren’t just for the days life rocks us. They’re for the delightful days and the extremely ordinary ones too, because what we practice when life feels routine will be essential when life isn’t stable.

It’s far easier to fall back on the familiar than fumble through new rhythms when your circumstances change.

So whether the ground beneath you feels stable or uncertain, lean on the steadfastness of God. Seek Him when you know that you need Him, and when you feel like you don’t. Practice habits that pull you closer to Him even when it doesn’t feel necessary. One day, you will be grateful for the faith roots you’ve nurtured. 

And perhaps someone is watching from a distance–or across the street–and your consistency inspires her to strengthen her faith daily. And one day she will be grateful for the faith roots she nurtured as she followed your example.

I’ll leave you with a short blessing for the seasons life seems shakey:

When you feel overwhelmed, 

may His peace strengthen you,

His hope steady you,

His wisdom guide you,

And His Word illuminate the way.

In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Just a friend over here in your corner,

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What if you gave your faith the chance to ripple right into your neighborhood? These quick tips provide a wide variety of baby steps to help you begin to build friendships with your neighbors. When we get close to God and let others get close to us, the things God is working out in us can show.

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