Charlie loves the beach, and the ocean. As soon as we get to the beach he loves to take off his shoes and run through the sand and splash in the water. It doesn’t matter if the rocks are covered in seaweed, or there are fish swimming around his feet.
Me? If by some chance that I have to walk in the water (and with a toddler who loves getting wet, I get the pleasure of getting my feet wet), you better believe that I will have shoes on. Because I know what is under the water sometimes isn’t pretty.
I am terrified of some things in the ocean. Seaweed on my feet? Yuck! The little fish that swim and graze my leg? Ugh. Sea robins and jelly fish? Get me out of the water as fast as possible! You will mostly find me floating on the surface of the water with my feet as close to the top as possible. That is until I see a bunch of jelly fish in the water with me, then I scream like a school girl and get out of the water as fast as possible (true story this happened).
How many of you approach your relationship with God like I can view the ocean?
I’ll confess. I can enjoy the beauty of His grace, like watching an Orca soar through the ocean, but I can tip toe on the rocks afraid that I am going to slip and fall. I want to bask in His love, but I become fearful of the immensity of that depth. I want all that He has before me. Yet, I enter His ocean with rubber boots hoping to protect myself from the dangers that lay below the surface.
How many times has He asked me to trust Him, and then lead me through the raging seas? Anyone? When God asks me to trust Him, I am guilty to say I can immediately think that a hurricane is coming. I can quickly turn and swim back to the safety of the shore called fear.
No matter what happens, it will be okay. Trust me.
But then I remember when I was pregnant with Olivia. I remember driving to a doctors appointment and hearing His whisper. No matter what happens, it will be okay. Trust me. That is usually what He says before things get bad. I went to the appointment and things didn’t look good.
The doctor ended up giving me some pretty harsh restrictions like not doing dishes, not lifting anything (including my 2 year old son), and working 50% of my time from my home. The doctors monitored me closely, and did what they could to ensure Olivia had the best shot of surviving if she indeed came early. I was praying for the best but mentally prepared myself for the worst. In my mind, I was going to deliver a preemie baby. I knew with every step I took, I was getting closer to my water breaking. And every step I took also got me one step closer to delivering her at 39 weeks and 6 days.
Today our beautiful Olivia is 9 months old. She is the sweetest little blessing. She is full of life, and loves to smile and laugh. When God asked me to trust Him in my pregnancy, He asked me to trust Him for something that was and is so good.
How many of you cringe inside when God whispers to your soul “Trust me”? And do not get me wrong, He has asked me to trust Him through some uncertain times. It was during those times He has showed me the deeper depths of His love.
But God…
He doesn’t want us to just trust Him through the uncertain times. God wants us to trust Him with everything. The bad, the ugly, the good, and the beautiful.
Is He asking you to trust Him? What if He wants you to trust Him for something good?
God, I don’t want to stand at the edge of the ocean in fear of what is underneath. I don’t want to run to the false security that lives on the shore. Fear didn’t create the sand on the shore, and tell the waters where it should go. Fear didn’t part the red sea, or calm the storm. You did. Fear didn’t walk on water, and then rise again from the dead. Jesus did.
I want to remember that You are the One who spoke and commanded the waters under heaven to gather together in one place. You then said that it was good. I want to enter the waters barefoot and swim in the beauty of the depths of Your love. I trust you, because I know that no matter what lies in the ocean, You are good. So, take me deeper. Show me how deep Your love is. I want to fearlessly experience all that you have for me, in Jesus name. Amen.
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