Walk on the beach

I did not realize when I left my house on Saturday morning that this would not only be a vacation and time to recharge my body, but it would also be a time for God to teach me a thing or two.  Should have known with the way that my journey has been moving as of late.

After the wonderful lessons that God taught me earlier this week with the shells that were left in my path, I found myself feeling a little sorry for myself yesterday.  I won't go into what got me into that frame of mind, but that is the best I can sum it up.  I guess it is my impatience that lead me to this feeling and the fact that what others were receiving from God or the fact that I have not received what I have been praying for.  We, as humans, are always good at giving out advice but not always the best at taking our own advice when the time comes.  I can't tell you how many times I have told various friends in their times of need that what they are wanting (various needs) would happen but it would happen in God's time and not necessarily in their time.  But when it comes to something that I am praying for and truly needing to the core of who I am, I don't want to wait.  I don't want to realize that there might be a reason that I have not received what I am asking for yet just like I tell my friends when they begin to feel sorry for themselves or complain because they have been waiting for so long.

So tonight I decided to cheer myself up I would walk down to the beach by myself and look for "ghost" crabs.  I don't know if any of you know what I am talking about, but at night if you take a flashlight and walk along the beach you will see little white crabs scurrying along the sand that you can tell only come out at night because they have no color whatsoever.  I love walking by myself and just watching them scurry to and fro as they try to get out of the light from my flash light.  Tonight they did not disappoint, they were everywhere.  But they were not the only thing on that beach waiting for me.  God was there waiting as well.  He is not through with me this week it seems.

The raging waters would have swept us away. (Psalm 124:5 NIV)

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:5, 8 NIV)

Yesterday and especially today the surf has been so strong you can't even get in the water.  I tried to get in yesterday and got out pretty quickly because of the undertow.  I am an excellent swimmer and I float like my own flotation device, but the current was too strong for me.  Today the waves were crashing even stronger and I would not get in above my ankles.  The waves were crashing so hard you could feel the percussion in your chest when it would crash.  I was on the beach completely by myself which can be a little unnerving on its own when it is dark and you can't see out into the water or even a few feet in front of you down the beach.  I found myself saying a little prayer to God that He is my protector and I trust Him to keep me safe while I take this walk along the beach.  I was not thinking about anything, just walking and listening to the crashing waves until the water washed over my foot.

When that water washed over my foot it scared me.  I know that is irrational since I was not standing in the surf and was well out of the reach of the dangerous undertow, but for that split second it scared me.  And with that thought God came crashing into my thoughts.  That water, those waves, and the pull of that water would teach me yet another lesson like it did just days before.  As I stood on the top of a small rise that has been cut into the beach now because of Hurricane Isaac I was safe.  I was standing on the firm land that is like standing on the firm word of God and standing firm in what He wants of me for my life.  But just off that ledge is that boiling and turning water with that dangerous undertow.  That water that would like nothing better than to pull me out to sea to a point that I could no longer touch bottom and have my feet on the foundation that God has provided for me.  It was as if God was standing there telling me that water is like  the world you live in.  That turning boiling dangerous water is the world around you.  Right now you can and should stand here on this safe ground that I have provided just like the safe ground I have provided you in my word.  But unlike that water you have to walk back into the world when you leave here.  Remember this water.  Remember this moment and how dangerous this situation and the world you live in is to your walk with Me.  Remember what that water would do to you if you did not have the safety of this land to stand on.  That is what the world will do to you if you do not have My word in you, if you do not safeguard it in your heart and live by it every day in everything you do.  Just like this water, the world will pull you in, tumble you in it's ugliness and strip from you the love and compassion that I have put into your heart.  Safeguard Me and My word with your life.  Keep the firm foundation always under your feet.  There may be others who just jump in and roll with whatever comes at them, but you know what you should do.  You know where your safety is, and your safety lies with Me and My word.

Meanwhile, God's firm foundation is as firm as ever, these sentences engraved on the stones:  god knows who belongs to him. spurn evil, all you who name god as god. (2 Timothy 2:19 MSG)

Standing on that ledge with that angry water boiling and crashing beneath me I can't explain to you how at peace I felt.  I will admit I still am craving the things I have been praying for and I will continue to search for them.  But like a wise friend of mine said to me recently, He is using this time with me to teach me in a way that maybe He could not teach me if I had a lot of distraction around me.  I work long hours and don't have much time on my own and if I get what I am asking for then that time would be even shorter.  I need to understand that God knows better and as I always tell my friends, He will give you what you need and desire but it will be in His time.