Our family recently returned from a vacation in Hawaii. My husband and I had been 15 years ago but this was the first time for our kids. We filled our days with beaches, the pool, hikes, and trying as many local fruits as possible.
After the thrill of stepping in the Pacific and running up and down the beach to avoid oncoming waves, my son came to me a little disheartened.
“I see fish and things in the sand but the waves keep coming and I loose them.” I assured him we would go to a place where the waves wouldn’t be a problem. He looked doubtful.
The next day, we went to a beautiful lagoon that was by several large resorts. {Side note: our local Hawaiian friends told us no one can own beaches in Hawaii, all beaches are open for anyone to use even “on resort property.”} We parked the car, walked up a grassy hill, and down into the sand. After a layer of sunscreen, the kids made a beeline for the water. And they instantly noticed something: no waves. The water was completely calm.
This manmade cove or lagoon had rocks piled against the ocean side, breaking the waves and keeping the water inside the cove calm and shallow. There were fish, crabs, even a sea cucumber. It was a great place to learn to snorkel and we built sand castles, swam in circles, and enjoyed the afternoon.
The thing was, on the other side of that rock barrier, waves crashed and hit and were just as rough as ever. The rocks didn’t keep the waves from being waves, they simply protected those in the cove.
As I sat on the beach, happily digging and watching the kids, I couldn’t help but think about all the Psalms that mention God as our Rock. We usually think of this in terms of God’s strength and solidness, a firm foundation we can trust in. But it also points us to how he protects us. The waves of the world are constant and relentless. Sin pounds at us from all sides. It can be just as exhausting as standing up to physical waves all day. But when we seek shelter in the Rock of our Salvation {God}, we can hide behind him and find peace and rest from the waves.
Meditate on these words from Psalm 62:
1 I am at rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from Him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will never be shaken.
No matter how high those waves struck on that Hawaiian beach, we were safe behind the rocks that made our lagoon. We didn’t even think about the possibility of the tide pulling us deeper into the water or the waves knocking us down. We were happy, secure, and enjoying the beauty around us.
God does the same. Life isn’t perfect or trouble free because we’re clinging to the Rock but we know he’s there. We know the sin and wickedness of the world can’t move him. We know we can always find refuge in him. When you feel as if the waves are pulling you away from the safety of the Rock, read Psalm 91. God is our refuge, our fortress. In him we can trust.
Photo by Wei Zeng on Unsplash