All last week I found myself with my whole squad in Baños, Ecuador with the sole purpose of resting and looking back at all the Father has done in our lives the first month on the field (Quick celebration: We made it through month 1 with flying colors and full hearts!). We spent a lot of time in sessions with our leaders, eating crepes, and adventuring God’s beautiful creation.
I had the opportunity to spend time with a few friends, riding bikes and seeing the waterfalls. It was quite the intense ride up highways, dodging trucks and cliffs in the scorching heat, with no direction as to where to go. To say the least, we were pretty tired at the end of our 4 hour ride to see the final waterfall; I think we were more excited to simply be finished with the bike ride than to actually spend time looking at the waterfall. Little did I know how God would speak to me in my time there. Somehow, we ended up with 30+ other Ecuadorian people, looking out at Pailon de Diablo (Unfortunately, we chose the holiday and you would have though the whole country wanted to see the waterfall in celebration of Day of the Dead).
As we were looking out into the waterfall, I was mesmerized by the power of the waterfall. The water roared and sprayed me as I stood there in peace, listening to what God had to say. My first thought was the verse in Psalms that says, “Mightier than the waves of the sea is His love for you.” (Psalms 93:4). I was in awe by what that verse truly means. Somehow, we read verses such as that one and take it lightly, but in that moment, staring at the roaring water, I could not ignore the love of my King. How intense, how scandalous, how powerful He loves us. I couldn’t help but spend time praising and thanking Him.
Then, He moved my eyes over to the rocks that surround the waves of water. What I saw was the water from the waterfall running itself over the rocks without ceasing. I appreciated the smoothness and purity of the rocks that seemed to have been there for years. No matter what the rock would say to the water, the water was molding the rock.
“That’s you,” said the King, “you’re the rock and I’m the waves.”
Take a moment and imagine the powerful, roaring waves. Fast and strong they move across the rocks, without hesitation of whether or not the rocks could handle the intensity. I believe the Lord has put me in a time of my life where He has prepared to mold me, intensely and powerfully. Yet, He doesn’t sit me down and ask if I’m ready- He waits for me to say “yes” to His adventure and then Him and I hit the ground running. I see myself now, getting dropped into the waterfall, a rock. My edges are hard and my exterior is dull. Then, without a warning, I’m hit with the wave of His love and purpose and adventure.
I take it all in. He is smoothing me out, purifying me, softening my edges. He has no hesitation of if I’m prepared, He knows my purpose and wants to get me there. I am thankful and overjoyed to simply be a rock in His mighty waterfall. Romans 4 finishes it off perfectly, “He (Abraham) didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what He had said.”
Father, thank you for showing yourself to me through your beautiful creation. I love that you dwell everywhere and not just in a pew of a church. You are vast and powerful and beautiful. I love getting to walk beside you on this adventure of my life. You are forever good, thank you for allowing me to be your vessel. Amen.
“Mightier than the waves of the sea
is His love for you.”
Psalm 93:4
