Power

Several months ago, my husband and I rented a condo on the beach to get away for a couple of days.

The beach has always been my happy place where I can unwind and relax.

When we arrived the first thing that I did was open up the sliding glass doors and step out onto the patio. I was overwhelmed by the sound of the ocean. The waves were crashing and the wind was blowing. 

This particular weekend was just coming off of a storm that had moved out to sea a day or two before. We were still seeing and hearing its effects.

As we sat out on the patio, I was shocked at how unsettled I felt by the sound. The ocean was loud and the waves seemed so relentless as they crashed on the shore line. It was unsettling to me to feel a little bit rattled by something that usually gave me so much peace.

The ocean remained that way for our entire two days stay. It was particularly choppy at night after the sun went down. We could hear the sound of the ocean and the whistling wind even when we went inside and closed the door. It was unnerving to me.

On the second day of our stay, I was sitting on the patio reading Psalms. I came to Psalms 93.

"The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial. You yourself are from the everlasting past. The floods have risen up, O Lord. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore— the Lord above is mightier than these! Your royal laws cannot be changed. Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever."

I started to think about this unnerving time at the sea. I was comforted by the ocean’s peace, but I was unsettled by its power.

Aren’t we like that with God as well? We’re comforted by His peace, but at times unsettled by His power. He has the power to work in us and through us, yet we more often simply ask Him to calm the waves of our heart. He has the power to do a mighty work within our lives but we prefer only His gentle presence. He has the ability to help us hear the raging storms within us, but we prefer His quiet stillness.

We can so often be unnerved when we sense God doing a work in us. Is He showing us something we had previously missed? Is He speaking into our life something we’ve tried to avoid? Is He leading us to unsettled waters in order to teach us to trust?

Can I say the ocean is my happy place if I am only happy with it one way? Can I say that God is my refuge and strength if I am not willing to see His strength displayed in my life in ways that move me?

 

This time at the sea opened my eyes to my own relationship with God. The ocean was not less beautiful to me in its power. The waves humbled me and reminded me of their strength. God is no less beautiful to me in His power. As He humbles me in my life I’m reminded of His loving strength and sovereignty.

 

“Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.” A strength that is for us not against us. A strength that is meant to work in us something beautiful. I pray that we can not only be comforted by His peace but comforted by His power as well.

 

-Pastor Patti