Everyday I live life in the fast lane as so many of us often do. I don’t take the time to fully notice the beauty and goodness surrounding me. I fail to notice the smallest and oftentimes most meaningful moments of life, instead focusing on the next bigger and better moment. But though I tend to oftentimes hurry through this life, God finds ways to show up and rock my world and my perspective. Last summer, I went on the most impactful trip and spent a fantastic week in Daytona, Florida with my church and God showed up in some huge ways throughout the whole week. But though the week was filled with revelation and breakthroughs, one of the most hard-hitting moments for me is when I laid my eyes on the ocean for the first time. I saw the great expanse of the crystal waters and felt a stirring in my soul. Though the water was filled with such beauty and my heart jumped at the sight, I experienced a strange and unexpected emotion… I was filled with fear. This fear was not for the depth of the ocean, for I know that that is great, nor for the dangers within the ocean, though those are very present, but it was merely for the seemingly infinite expanse that it stretched.

My limited capacity to understand all things infinite was tested by the vastness  of this body of water. I struggled and longed to see the end, but ultimately failed. I wanted so desperately to know what lay at the other side of this body of water but try as I might, it could not be found by my mere human eyes. The shoreline was what I wanted but I now realize that the mystery was what I needed. I wanted proof, but I needed wonder. See, if I could see that shoreline I could limit the expanse of the ocean and belittle its majesty and beauty, but in not finding the end and boundary, I was left to marvel at its greatness. This realization sent my thoughts on a crazy track as my eyes were shifted Heaven-ward. How often do we try to put God in a box or boundary in order to wrap our limited minds around Him? How often do we try to fully understand the things that we will never be able to? Why do we try to make Jesus as much like us as we can in hopes to find a kinship and similarity? And in the end, how often do we limit God and His majesty to comfort our stirring and fearful hearts? We all long to understand that which we cannot and when we can’t do that, we are fearful for the unknown. When was the last time that you rejoiced and marveled in the mystery?

The last few months have been a sort or lesson for me and a new journey for me has begun. I realized that I had thought of my Heavenly Father as a close friend, not at the Holy wonder that He is. While yes, He is closer than a friend, He is so much more and in thinking that that was all He was, my reverence and wonder had begun to fade. In my mind, He wasn’t as much as this majestic and unimaginable God as He was my closest friend who happened to create a whole universe. I didn’t realize it but I had been putting my God into a box as I tried to make Him something understandable and relatable. I was belittling His power as I made Him more human like. Think of it this way, we were made in God’s image, He was not made in ours. God does not resemble us, we are made to be like Him.

When the waves of life come crashing upon us, true comfort will not come from earthly remedies, for it is from this earth that the troubles originate. True and all-encompassing peace and strength come from the knowledge that a God so powerful is holding us in the storm. When we belittle our Divine Creator, the doubts come flooding in as we question His ability to calm the waves. However, when we let ourselves see Him as He truly is, the Almighty, the King over all, the Creator of the universe, and the very One who made us- made all in existence, the storm begins to calm as we can relinquish control and put it into His hands. Nothing is too small, nothing too insignificant for our God to handle. He made you and through it all, He is for you.

“Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to something we are capable of comprehending.”

-Crazy Love, Francis Chan

Who am I to shrink God to my likeness for my comfort? It’s so easy to shape our views around what is comfortable and easy to understand instead of letting our minds stretch to embrace the marvel that He is. Don’t be afraid of fearing him and His power. Our Father is terrifying in the most beautiful way and His power is unimaginable. The expanse of His majesty is beyond our wildest dreams and it is in that terrifying fact that true comfort and peace can exist.

❤

Love Y’all and God Bless