Waves Crashing Over Me

I am not a beach/ocean person.  I can swim, but not well and for some reason I always feel like I’m freezing when I’m in the water.  My husband teases me even about our above ground pool, because I won’t get in unless it’s warm. My husband says it’s bath water warm, and that’s when he get in, gets wet and then get out to cool off!

Now all that said, I do enjoy strolling along the beach and watching the waves come in.  I get a funny feeling when the waves come in, then go back out and take the sand I’m standing on right from under my feet, out with it when it goes!  It unnerves me a bit, since I feel like I’m losing my balance.  

I’ve watched other swimmers who get whacked by a wave and go under, laughing all the while as they come up for air.  I don’t like that at all!  I know that going further out, reduces the effect of the ‘whack’ on the body as the waves can just lift you up and then go around you.  I admit, I do like that.

A friend was sharing about how when she was a child, her dad would take her out ‘past the breakers’ and hold her hand until the gentle waves didn’t crash around her.  Sometimes she’d ride the wave on her back as she floated—while still hanging on to her dad.

Life is tough and can feel like it’s crashing and whacking us so much we feel battered and beaten, sure we’re not going to be able to make it a step further.  But like the dad who took my friend out into the deeper water, so that the waves became more gentle is our God who offers to hang on to us while we battle the waves that threaten to pull us under.

Regardless of the rise and fall of the water—-or the obstacles we face, we are never alone.  When we reach out to hang on to Jesus, we can feel the safety that can only come from a God who knows all.  When we trust him to not let us go under the wave that’s suffocating us, we can ride the waves on our back and hold on to Him, even while the thrashing continues!

There is such comfort in this knowledge.  Our lives are continually changing and we all face challenges.  It may come as a financial breakdown, health issues, the loss of a loved one, broken relationships, a natural disaster and the list could go on forever.  For each person these situations, and being able to deal with them, are crucial to keeping our emotional health in check.  

       With God, however, when we falter because of any kind of brokenness that crashes in on us like a giant wave, that threatens to pull the sand from under our feet and causes us to lose our balance; there's comfort in knowing God’s wave of steadiness, hope, love, security and unending faithfulness can buffer that which drags us under.

We serve a mighty God and I’m grateful for the Father which He is!  Let’s rejoice in that today!