Awe Inspiring

Unfortunately for me, there are few things in life that I find awe inspiring.  It is almost as if I am always saying, “That’s all you’ve got”.  I am not sure if it was my upbringing or if it is the world we live in. I lean more on thinking it is all about the society in which we live.  We are always searching for bigger, faster, cheaper.  It puts us into this state of bemusement.  I do worry that one day this fast moving society will come crashing down and all the surviving generations will not know how to cope with the changes.  However, that is a thought for another post.  Even though it seems I can’t find anything that is awe inspiring, there is one thing that always makes me stop and drop my jaw; it’s the ocean. If God were to reside anywhere on this earth I think it would be on the ocean somewhere.  When I stand on the shore, no matter which one, with the salt spray hitting my face looking out on the vastness, my mind wanders to God.  This is God’s power.  This is God’s beauty.  This is God’s grace.

There is not a force on this earth that can stop the power of the ocean.  We have seen its power recently with Irene.  You pile sand bags a mile high, and if the ocean so chooses, they don’t stand a chance.  Man can build levies to protect cities, but they don’t stand a chance.  We are not in control as much as we pretend we are.  Scripture shows us the powerful hand of God many times.  All the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the list goes on.  So, standing on the shore, here is where I can feel close to the power and majesty of God.  Here is where you can look out to the horizon and see that you are small, and God is big.

I have had the opportunity to wake up to a view of the ocean many times in my life.  When I was a child my family spent many summers in Gulf Shores, AL.  While technically not the ocean, it works for me.  The picture of the ocean, particularly at sunrise is most certainly awe inspiring.  You look out and you see gentle waves stretching toward shore.  The birds float on the gulf breeze with ease.  This is the picture God created.  So, if this is what He created, can you imagine the beauty of seeing His face?  How marvelous must it be to see the light beaming off of His face much the same as the sun light shines off the ocean.  The beauty of the ocean is never ending.  You can travel the whole earth on water and make it back to where you started.  Here is where God and the ocean are the same.  God never ends; He never has to stop for anything.  The beauty of God and the ocean goes on forever.

Anywhere we are to stand on dry ground is made possible because the ocean allows it to be so.  Think about it.  There is enough water in all the oceans of the earth to cover all the land that is on the earth.  All the ocean would have to do is break its banks.  We have already said there is nothing that man can do to stop the ocean.  So, we are at its mercy.  However, the ocean shows us its grace by staying in its banks.  It doesn’t want to cause trouble.  It is here for us, not against us.  The ocean will and does show its mighty hand but the majority of the time it extends a hand of grace out to us.  God is much the same way.  He doesn’t want to be a vengeful God.  He does show His power, but for the most part He wants nothing but peace for His children.

It might be a stretch to consider the ocean like God, but I feel closer to God when I am on the coast more than any other time.  All because of the combination of feeling power through the roaring waves, seeing its vastness past the horizon, and knowing that the champagne shore is  its gentle hand extending out to us, telling us that it’s okay to trust it.  We can use it to support life.  Humans for generations have used the ocean as a means to survive.  I hope that humanity continues to use God’s great ocean in that manner.  I also hope that through the ocean we can all find our place with God.