Daily Devotional
Be different!
May 29. 2022
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A wave curling over, about to crash over the camera. I’ve always loved the ocean.
I treasure special memories of camping at Bethany Beach in Delaware when I was a girl. The waves would come in over a long sandbar, breaking up to seven feet high, spilling creamy surf over acres of sand.
Now when you’re a child—and I couldn’t have been more than six or seven—those waves can look pretty high. When I saw them coming, my first inclination was to swim the other way.
But that was a mistake, because the rolling, foaming, surf would toss you every which way, sometimes holding you underneath the water for what seemed to be forever.
No, I learned the best thing to do when those waves swelled was to swim fast toward them and dive under the wave before it had a chance to break on top of you.
You really had to hold your breath as you dove through the wave. But oh, the relief you felt as you broke the surface and could hear that huge great wave breaking behind you. You had beat the wave, and it was exhilarating.
Funny how the lessons you learn at a young age stick with you through the years. Because even though I don’t dive or swim anymore, I can still “beat the waves.”
Waves of crisis or difficult roll in from the horizon and threaten to break over my life. Looking up at them, they seem so high, so insurmountable.
My first inclination is to flee the other way, attempting to escape those frightening problems. But there really is no fast escape.
Running from problems only tosses me in a foaming fury of entanglements and frustrations and emotions later on.
Jonah learned that lesson in a tough college course called Obedience 101. When he tried to run from the clear challenge God had laid before him, life became exceedingly complicated.
In the inhospitable confines of a fish’s belly, the reluctant prophet reflected on his attempted escape.
Lord…You hurled me into the deep,
Into the very heart of the seas,
And the currents swirled about me;
All your waves and breakers swept over me.
The engulfing waters threatened me,
The deep surrounded me;
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
Jonah would agree with me that the best way to beat those waves of trials and tough challenges is to face them—head on.
Almost anticipating them. Sometimes I find myself diving into the middle of a problem before it has a chance to crash on top of me.
And when by God’s grace I come through it all? Oh, the relief when I know that problem is behind me. With God’s help, I’ve beaten it. What an invigorating feeling!
Well, I’m on my way to a camping trip, so I have to close. I’ll sit by the shoreline tonight and watch the waves roll in off the mighty Pacific.
And if only I could swim…I think I might still beat those waves!
Wayside Interlude
I hear the tumult of the raging seas
as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs,
praying to God who gives me life.
Psalm 42:7-8, NLT
What is your greatest challenge or difficulty as you read these words? What looms in front of you as your greatest obstacle? Have you been running from that “wave,” allowing your emotions to be tossed and dashed about in the surf?
Is there an issue you must deal with eventually, but keep procrastinating? Maybe today is the day to face that wave, and dive right under it in God’s strength. What a joy it will be for you to be through that issue, and move on to new challenges and opportunities in Christ!
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