I spent some time with the ocean today. The wind was quite wild and the ocean was a strange mix of teal and murky green. White caps abounded and the pine trees danced and swayed at the whim of the wind.
I breathed in the fresh coastal air, grateful for my thick jumper and scarf. The relentless waves washed over the shoreline again and again, their musical swell mesmerising. It seemed they were whispering to me—although perhaps it was just my fancy:
‘I’m still here.’
God made this ocean, traced the width and depth of it. He made it generous and expansive like his love. He made it deep, almost unfathomable. And, just like his love, that ocean ain’t going anywhere.
It reminded me of Psalms 36:5-6 (MSG):
‘God’s love is meteoric,
His loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
His verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
Nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
Slips through the cracks.’
I love that as huge as God is, and as vast as his ocean is, he still cares for every single creature he made: ants, fish, birds, you and me. Nothing escapes his notice. But it’s easy to forget, isn’t it? I certainly can get swept away by the rush of life’s stressors and worries. Yet God hasn’t missed a thing. He still cares for us. He, like his ocean, is still here.
God’s very nature, his love and loyalty, is imprinted in the skies, the ground and the waters. Perhaps that is why some of us feel closer to God when we are in nature. His creation shouts of him, reassures us of his presence, calms and grounds us when we are stressed out, and draws us closer to him.
Water, in particular, seems to carry God’s calming presence to me. The slow, deep drag of the waves, the rippling surfaces, the seemingly endless rhythms, remind me God is still here with us. His love is as relentless as the waves, and he wants to carry us like the waters carry our boats and bodies. This ocean of his, this glorious creation, carries on forever, and his arms can stretch even further than that.
If you’re worried today, God’s ocean and God’s love are bigger than your worries.
If you’re beaten down and hopeless, God’s ocean and God’s love are bigger.
If you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, God’s ocean and God’s love are bigger than even those.
May the constancy of God’s creation and the expanse of his oceans remind us afresh of his steadfast love.
Do you encounter God in nature? Does the oceanic metaphor speak to you? What helps to remind you of God’s love when life is too much? Share your story. Let’s have a countercultural conversation.
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