A few days ago my team and I were blessed with the opportunity to visit some of Costa Rica’s beaches. We loaded in the car at 5:30am to make the three hour drive to some of the nicest beaches I’ve been to, ones that are not overrun by tourists. On the race I’ve found out that I love being surrounded by nature, but going to the beach is not something that I typically enjoy doing. However, I chose to embrace the day, find joy in it, and spend time sitting in Gods presence. God used this as an opportunity to use the ocean to remind me of his character.
It’s easy to become complacent with our ideas of who we think God is. It’s easy to put constraints on what we think he can do based on our personal past experiences with him. It’s easy to stop seeking him because we might think we have figured him out. And it’s easy not to see him in the ordinary things in our lives because we have grown accustomed to them.
God reminded me of his power and beauty while I sat in the sand and looked at the water. Just as the waves exhibit a powerful force that is wrapped in grace, God too is a graceful, powerful force who can crash into our lives in a strong and beautiful manner. Just as the tides flow constantly under the surface of the water where we cannot see them, God is always moving within us in ways that we can feel but may not be able to see.
The ocean is full of creatures that he created out of his perfect imagination. They all reflect different things from God, but we will never truly know and understand the abundance of life that exists beneath the surface. We only know what he has chosen to reveal to us. God reveals aspects of his character in the same way. We will never understand everything that he encapsulates, just the pieces that he wants to show to us. We will never know the depths of the ocean, just as we will never know the extent of the depth of God.
A day that was meant for fun and relaxation quickly turned into a day that was spent sitting at the foot of Jesus, watching him remind me of the beauty of his character, of the depth of who he is, of his love for us, and letting myself be overwhelmed with the grandeur of my heavenly father. He often uses creation as a medium to speak to us. God reveals himself to us everyday through the world that he has delicately placed together, and my prayer is that we do not become so used to the nature that surrounds us that we stop seeing it.
