John F Kennedy served as the President of American in the early 1960’s. I recently heard that he had a copy of an old Breton prayer on his desk:

“O God, thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small.”

How true. It’s a commentary about those times when life seems overwhelming. It’s like a vast “sea”—and a sea which often feels like a storm.

In contrast our boats are so small. We feel very little in the midst of the storms around us. The winds feel stronger than we are. The dark is foreboding. We look to the horizon and don’t always see the sun.

In the Bible, Heman writes words that many of us can relate to: “I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength” (Psalm 88:3-4).

Sounds like one of those moments when the boat feels like it’s bobbing around a vast and threatening sea.

But there’s a detail on that old Breton poem that is easy to miss.

It’s God’s sea. “O God, thy sea is so great…”

When your life feels overwhelming, trust the author of life itself. When you feel small and forgotten, remember the God who called you by name and made you while you were still in your mother’s womb. When all you can see is dark, turn to the light of the world, Christ, who never forsakes his people.

Problems are sometimes big, but God is bigger.

“O God, thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small.”

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-Bible quotes are from the NIV.