Catch a Wave This Instant!!

Catch a Wave

If you’re a surfer, you undoubtedly know the name Kelly Slater. He’s a seven-time world champion. He’s the pro of all pros. If you aspire to be a surfer, you want to be Kelly Slater.

Unfortunately, when it comes to surfing, I'm essentially Keanu Reeves in Point Break. I’m just a wannabe. I’m an actor who desperately needs a stuntman to do the actual work for me (while I get the credit, of course).

That’s certainly the case when we’re talking about liquid waves. LIFE’s waves, on the other hand, I know well. One thing after another, break after break, crash after roaring crash—circumstances collide to tempt, test, and try me. If life is a body of water, mine is NOT a still Minnesota lake. It is a turbulent ocean shore, crowded with monstrous waves, beautiful but devastating whitewater, and an undertow that could drown even Kelly Slater.

The bizarre thing is…I haven’t drowned. And I’m not even just doggy-paddling my way through survival. I even would dare to say…I’m surfing. I’m riding these life waves, and I’m securely navigating them. How? Practice (age) has something to do with it. But what can explain the exhilaration I experience when these circumstances, changes, and events should technically be crushing me? I certainly don't boast in my surfing prowess (I have none). It can only be one thing. It's my surfboard. It's made of nothing but the finest material--God’s grace. And His grace is more than enough to see me through.

How are you handling the breaking waves in your life? Are they tossing, turning, or pounding you? Deep down, do you doubt that God really cares about what you’re going through? Do you fear that He might be a great God of the entire universe, but a poor PFD (personal flotation device)? Or are you standing tall on His promises, un-intimidated by the waves because your surfboard is a brand-name Grace Glider?

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
James 1:6

“Therefore, …we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
Romans 5: 1-5