Surf's Up!
Last weekend my wife, Dorcas, and I were blessed to be able to visit Mancora Beach in the north of Peru, very close to the border with Ecuador. It was a beautiful place, and the bungalows where we stayed had no televisions, no phones, no computers, no Internet - but a whole lot of peace and tranquility. I rediscovered that it's a whole lot easier to hear God's voice when the phone's not ringing and the TV's turned off.
While we were there, I went bodyboarding for the very first time. I fell a lot and gulped a lot of seawater. But it was a blast. At some point in the near future this blog may even feature a rare photo of me taken during the few seconds that I was balanced on my bodyboard, before a giant wave swallowed me.
Bodyboarding, if you don't know, is like surfing, except that a bodyboard is shorter and wider than a surfboard, and you lie on your stomach on the board instead of standing on it. It's not easy to do, but when you successfully ride a wave or maneuver a turn, it's exhilarating.
Riding the waves at Mancora Beach reminded me of the words of Oswald Chambers. He said, "The surf that distresses the ordinary swimmer produces in the surf-rider the super-joy of going clean through it." I don't know if Chambers ever surfed or not, but he was right on target with his comment. At Mancora Beach, the waves were at least 10 feet high or more. This caused many swimmers to get scared and to not go in the water. They stayed on the beach. But for the surfers and bodyboarders in the crowd, the giant waves were a cause for celebration.
We can apply this same idea to our own lives. When a big surf crashes into your life - in the form of trials, temptations, troubles, distress, discouragement, or bad news - how do you view it? Do you run to the safety of the beach in your life, or do you have the Christ-fortified ability to ride the wave and conquer the surf in your life? What do you do when you see the waves coming in? Do you head for the hills - or do you grab your board?
James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Here's what I think might be the surfer's version of these verses: "Consider it pure joy whenever you face the big waves of life, because you know that your testing in the surf will develop perseverance in your life, and pretty soon you'll be able to ride the waves in your life like a champion!"
Don't fear the big waves in your life. Grab your board and ride right into them, knowing that the One who made the waves also will help you to surf right over them.
While we were there, I went bodyboarding for the very first time. I fell a lot and gulped a lot of seawater. But it was a blast. At some point in the near future this blog may even feature a rare photo of me taken during the few seconds that I was balanced on my bodyboard, before a giant wave swallowed me.
Bodyboarding, if you don't know, is like surfing, except that a bodyboard is shorter and wider than a surfboard, and you lie on your stomach on the board instead of standing on it. It's not easy to do, but when you successfully ride a wave or maneuver a turn, it's exhilarating.
Riding the waves at Mancora Beach reminded me of the words of Oswald Chambers. He said, "The surf that distresses the ordinary swimmer produces in the surf-rider the super-joy of going clean through it." I don't know if Chambers ever surfed or not, but he was right on target with his comment. At Mancora Beach, the waves were at least 10 feet high or more. This caused many swimmers to get scared and to not go in the water. They stayed on the beach. But for the surfers and bodyboarders in the crowd, the giant waves were a cause for celebration.
We can apply this same idea to our own lives. When a big surf crashes into your life - in the form of trials, temptations, troubles, distress, discouragement, or bad news - how do you view it? Do you run to the safety of the beach in your life, or do you have the Christ-fortified ability to ride the wave and conquer the surf in your life? What do you do when you see the waves coming in? Do you head for the hills - or do you grab your board?
James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Here's what I think might be the surfer's version of these verses: "Consider it pure joy whenever you face the big waves of life, because you know that your testing in the surf will develop perseverance in your life, and pretty soon you'll be able to ride the waves in your life like a champion!"
Don't fear the big waves in your life. Grab your board and ride right into them, knowing that the One who made the waves also will help you to surf right over them.
posted by Stephen Guschov at 11:36 AM
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