2 Corinthians 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
I remember the first time I visited Clearwater Beach Gulf of Mexico . It had stormed the previous day, and the sand, although beautiful and soft, was littered with seaweed and debris washed up from the ocean floor. The waves were rather large for the Gulf, but I didn’t care. I stood at the water’s edge and let a wave lap its way over my feet. As I watched the water recede from my toes, I was mesmerized. The sand directly under my feet stayed in tact, but all around it disappeared with the tide.
Looking up, I noticed in the distance some people standing about waist deep in the water. I was surprised at how shallow the water seemed at such a distance. I waded into the water and began to walk out to where those people were. I didn’t get far. About 20 steps in, the bottom dropped out from underneath me and there I was, treading water unable to touch the bottom. I have always been a good swimmer, but there is a huge difference between the still waters of a blue chlorinated pool and the push and pull of the ocean. At that moment, a large wave came crashing down over me, sending me down under the water until my arm scraped the bottom. As I surfaced and gathered my bearings, another wave took me under. I began to realize this was not going to be a simple swim. I rode the next wave onto the shore and sat down at the edge of the sand looking at those people who were splashing around so light heartedly. There were no waves crashing down on them, and they looked so happy. I didn’t understand that what I was seeing was a sand bar, until my sister explained it.
With her urging me on, I was determined to get out to that sand bar. I stood up, brushed the sand off my tush, and ventured back into the water. When the first wave came, I could hear my sister advising me from the shore. “Dive right into it as it rises to its peak!” That seemed like a ridiculous thing to do, so I braced myself for the impact, and sure enough I ended back on the shore. Again I tried, and again I failed. One more time I ventured out, this time taking my sister’s advice and did a perfect dolphin dive straight into the wave. To my surprise, I surfaced just beyond the wave not feeling any of the effects of its power. On and on I proceeded. With wave after wave getting larger and coming against me, I continued to dive straight into them and let them just roll right over me. Within minutes, my feet touched bottom and I was standing on solid ground again… in the middle of the ocean. I turned and waved at my sister on the shore with a giggle. Man, was it ever beautiful out there… beyond the waves, beyond the debris.
Are you in the midst of a storm? Are the waves taunting you, trying to get you to scrape the bottom? Is your life littered with debris from the rising tide?
I am.
I am right smack in the middle of what is probably the biggest storm I have ever faced in my life with waves so large and unrelenting that it seems I will never surface. And the harder I brace myself against them, the harder they hit and the further I fall. And it hurts - A lot. I look at those ahead of me who seem to be enjoying the waters of life as I am struggling to touch bottom and I wonder if I will ever make it there. And then I hear the words of Jesus telling me to stop fighting. He is telling me to dive head on into the waves that are trying to push me back, pull me down. And His promise is that He will bring me to the surface on the other side unharmed.
So I forge ahead. Some days, I am hit by wave after wave, determined to take their impact through sheer will of my own. Those are the nights I end up battered and bruised, feeling weak and helpless. Other days I heed the advice of Jesus and I let go and dive into the coming wave, and I surface on the other side unscathed. And on those nights, I rest easy in between the waves, knowing that it is not my strength that got me through, but the promises of God.
Although I have not reached my sand bar yet, I know that if I keep listening to Jesus and relying on HIS strength and HIS promises, I will get there. It’s not easy to let go and dive right in, but then again, He never promised that this life would be easy, only that it would be worth it for eternity.
Rest in Him, my friends, and let go.
