There are moments of great joy. Things seem to be working. Progress is being made. It’s easy to laugh and smile.
There are moments of frustration. Everything stalls. I can see all the problems. It’s hard to focus and concentrate.
I can’t be the only one who has felt this way over the past several months. Up and down, back and forth. The waves of good and bad news keep coming and going. This has been very frustrating and leading a church during this time has not been easy.
What I have been learning is that the world will always have waves. COVID-19 has been a major disruption. 2020 seems to have had several major tidal events. This has been rough. I have been trying to not get swept up in the waves, because that’s when you panic. When you don’t know which way is up and you feel the water pulling you in different direction. That is the last place you want to be.
Daily Bible reading has been part of my life for years. This year, I have been particularly refreshed as I read scripture, and I have been sharing daily devotions through a podcast. These disciplines have refocused my heart on Jesus in such a way that he really has become an anchor for my soul (Hebrews 6:19). The anchoring hope of Jesus is knowing that he has completed all that is necessary to save us from sin, and his death and resurrection are the path into the family of God.
As the Family of God, we are growing in maturity and unity in Christ. As we grow in Christ we learn how to swim safely, and we are no longer tossed by the waves (Ephesians 4:13-14). And our faith will help us to not be tossed by the wind (James 1:6).
The waves are part of this world, but our lives don’t need to be dictated by the waves. I pray that the Spirit of God will help us in the moments of crisis and uncertainty. We have security in Jesus, and when the waves come and go, that may change the shape of the shoreline, it may reveal some treasures, it may reveal some dangers. But the waves of this world don’t change who we are in Christ Jesus. He is our security, he is our hope.
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on a side note:
As I was writing this I was reminded of this song from U2, “Every Breaking Wave.”
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