Proverbs 8:28-29 – “He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep; He gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep His command.”
Being at the coast recently, this verse continually kept coming to mind as I would watch the tide come in each morning. God has drawn “a line in the sand” which the waters cannot overstep. It was fascinating to watch this “line in the sand” each day. It was very much fixed!
Yesterday’s blog post was about the restless ocean … always moving, always churning, waves always pounding. God stirs the oceans on purpose so that the ocean is healthy, dynamic, and life-giving for our earth and our existence. If God did not stir the oceans (with tides and underwater currents) the ocean would become stagnant and filled with decay.
God does the same thing in our lives.
Just as God stirs the oceans, God also stirs our lives with “changing tides” and “underwater currents.”
Personally, my life has been stirred by “changing tides” every 3-4 years. Just about the time I’m getting settled in a nice comfortable rut … things comfortably being done the way I can expect … rhythms of life in a steady consistent pattern … that’s when God stirs the “tides” with an upheaval of change.
Pack everything up … move to a new home … a new location … a new city. Get rid of things we’re not using and don’t need. Start all over again.
I once knew exactly where everything was … now I have no idea. The items in my home … I used to know where they were located and where to find them … now I have no idea. The post office … the library … the grocery store? Starting all over again.
Tides of change. They keep me humble. They constantly remind me that this home I’m living in … I don’t “own” it … it is not “mine.” No reason to get possessive over it. I have simply been given the gift of living in it for however long God would have me here.
These belonging of ours (which we pack up and move from here to there) … they are simply gifts given to us by God … for us to enjoy, and to be used for His service. They are temporary … they won’t last … and neither will we … our life is every bit as brief.
Tides of change. They keep me humble before God. They keep me dependent on God. They keep my life from becoming stagnant.
God stirring the waters of my life with His tides of change is actually life-giving … for the growth and good of my soul.
God has regularly stirred the waters of hubby’s life with “undertows” and “underwater currents” in his career. Just about the time everything settles into a nice comfortable rut at work, upheaval happens with a huge reorg! “Underwater currents” and strong undertows resulting from political posturing!
All the interdependent work relationships hubby worked so hard to build … gone. All the progress he was making toward accomplishing his tasks … gone. All gone … in the reorg.
Starting all over again.
God stirs our lives with “changing tides” and “underwater currents” because it is healthy for us. It keeps us humble. It keeps us dependent on Him. But it doesn’t feel “healthy.” It’s hard! We feel pounded by the surf. We feel dashed on the rocks. The crashing of the waves feels relentless!
In the upheaval of changing tides … God has promised not to give us more than we can bear. God has “drawn a line in the sand.”
“God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But will provide a way so that you can stand up under it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13
God has drawn a line in the sand!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you … for I am the LORD, you God … Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” – Isaiah 43:2-5
What about you? What “tides of change” has God been stirring up within your life?
