Surfing 101

My sister and I stood knee-deep in restless water at the ocean’s edge, jumping over each incoming wave, squealing and laughing as we held hands and learned the art of not getting knocked down.

As we got older we ventured deeper and instead of jumping the waves, we rode them. The precise timing of wave riding challenged us to be in sync with the rhythm of the ocean. Too far behind the rise of the wave and you go nowhere. Too early ahead of the wave and you get creamed by the churning, white, foamy aftermath, sometimes pummeled to the ocean floor in its harshness. However, when we strategically positioned ourselves just behind the cap of the wave and were propelled by the current’s natural forces; we commandeered a smooth ride to shore.

At times, I feel life is like an ocean. Some waves are pretty rough, then a few gentle waves; and then it seems the waves are trying to drown me.

Have you felt this way at times? That life is determined to beat you up? That it's difficult to get a moment between the onslaught of waves to catch your breath?

In Job 1, we read that Job suffered tremendous losses all in one day: his property, animals, servants, and all of his children. Talk about feeling like you're drowning! Yet, this is what Job said,

"I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!" (Job 1:21 NLT).

Wait a minute! Job praised the name of the Lord after all that? How can that be? I would say it's because Job was certain to his core that God is good and worthy of praise and honor, regardless of any circumstance. When we love God and trust Him as the Master of our lives, just as He is the Master of the ocean, we do not drown in despair. He provides the Holy Spirit to give His children courage and strength and to position us as professional wave riders. We can expect the waves of life to keep coming and look for opportunities to ride each wave triumphantly to the shore.

Job endured all of these sorrows without blaming God. He wins the surfer of all-time award! And in the second half of Job's life, the Lord not only restores what Job lost but gives him twice as much as he had before, as well as seven more sons and three more daughters (Job 42:10-13).

God does not seek to destroy us with rough seas. However, the evil one would like us to think the waves will be our undoing. Satan's purpose is to have us focus on and fear them. God's purpose is the opposite.

The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (John 10:10).

For all of us who are feeling the effects of rough waves, we can agree together these waves will not overtake us. Almighty God, Jehovah, is the Master of the ocean of our lives and gives us the victory through our faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus, who was sacrificed for our sins and rose again to rule the oceans and the universe with His righteousness.

We welcome the waves in the name of the Lord. Surf's up!

~

Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.