Why limit yourself to the pool when I’ve given you the ocean?!
We arrived to the pool, but I had no peace about being there. Everyone changed into their bathing suits and jumped into the water. Me? I sat in a lawn chair trying to understand why I was feeling the way I was. Why didn’t I have a peace about being at the resort?
“Why are we paying to use a pool when we have the ocean right outside the gate?” I thought to myself. I know why we were there—for Taylor’s birthday, but also to relax on our adventure day—outside of salt water, sand flies and direct sunlight. But the question still lingered.
I went outside the pool area to the beach and sat down. I felt an urgency to leave. I wrestled with the thought. “It’s Taylor’s Birthday. I need to stay here to support her. There is no harm in swimming and relaxing here.” And on and on I tried to reason with myself. But despite all the thoughts, I still had no peace about it. I’ve learned to follow that peace inside me, and because it wasn’t there, I felt extremely uncomfortable.
With tear-filled eyes, I told the girls that I was leaving. They understood.
From the moment I left until now, I’ve had an incredible peace. It’s been a day of quality time with the Lord and allowing Him to reshape pieces of myself and my understanding that doesn’t quite align with His.
As I sit and reflect on the day, watching the sun pass over the horizon, the question resurfaced but with an emphasis on life: why do we settle for a pool when God has given us the ocean?
Is it a lack of trusting that the Lord will catch us when we walk past the end of ourselves and our boundaries?
Some kind of fear is holding us back from our destiny. The Bible says “do not fear” 365 times—once for every day of the year, so we know it’s important. Fear is deadly. It focuses our attention on the problem rather than the solution.
But God has promised us grace, strength and victory for every situation that we face. There is a new batch for every new situation. We will never run out because His supply is endless—just like His ocean is endless.
So let’s jump in! He’s waiting to swim with us.
