His Voice Is Over The Waters

The voice of the Lord is over the water Psalm 29 : 3

 

I’ve always had mixed emotions when it comes to bodies of water.  I love the ocean.  I love the beach.  I love the beauty of the waves rushing over the sand and breaking, then returning to the deep from which they came.  I like to try to follow the receding water back and feel the wet sand between my toes. I like to search for all the treasures those waves deposited on the sand for me.  I love seashells, starfish, and sand dollars.  However, I have no desire to swim out in the ocean.  I have no desire to be in a boat out in the deep so far from land.

I love to sit on a riverbank and watch the water breaking over the rocks, splashing; water drops glistening in the sun, and then rolling on down its banks to its destination.  I do not have a desire to go white water rafting, or kayaking.

I also love slow running creeks, and even the water running through an irrigation ditch.  I have no fear to venture out into their shallow waters.

What is it that gives me inner peace and such a sense of awe when I sit by the water’s edge?  It calms me, and I feel tension and anxieties leaving me each time I hear the water breaking over the rocks and roaring on down its course.  It is the smell of the air next to the water, the visual sight of the water, but mostly it is the sound  of the water moving that refreshes my soul.

I have always been drawn to water, and now I know why.  Psalm 29:3 says,”The voice of the Lord is over the water.”  Without my knowing it, God has always drawn me to Him, to listen to Him when my burdens seem great.  Sometimes I am drawn there just because of the indescribable beauty He created.

I also think I know why I don’t like the deep waters.  God’s voice is still over it right?  So why do I fear?  Well, one reason is that when I was young, I almost drowned myself and my father , who tried to help me when he saw I was in trouble.  It is more than that though.  It is the sheer immensity of those big bodies of water.  I fear their power.  I’ve witnessed some of the destruction that can happen by their force; such as floods, and mud slides.  I’ve known people who have drowned rafting down the river.  I watched Titanic.  I don’t like to be so far from dry land, that I can not put my feet upon it.

But maybe there is something a little deeper going on.  I am reminded of Peter when he was walking on the water towards Jesus.  He was doing fine until he looked down at the water, and then he realized, “That is water, men can’t walk on water!”, and he immediately began to sink; to drown.  If only he would have just kept his eye on Jesus and trusted Him.

Right now in my walk on “life’s waters”, I find myself in Peter’s situation.  I love Jesus.  I want to walk to Him just like Peter did.  But like Peter, I get distracted by my human limitations.  I love God’s voice over the water, but I prefer to savor it from the safe banks of the river or beach.

I know I need to keep my eyes on Jesus, trust Him, and follow Him out into the deep waters.  Pray for me to take those steps….and I will be praying that you will venture out into the deep waters also.