Reflections at the Beach
Week Fifteen
"The Rocky Shore"
Focus text: Psalm 61
Walking onto the sandy shore of the beach can one of the most therapeutic things in all the world. The gentle, salty breeze hits you reminding you to unpack all your worries. The sound of the waves wash away your stress and anxiety. The soft sands is like a giant welcome mat inviting you to dig your toes in or to take a long walk. Almost each beach has that atmosphere, but beaches in the Northeastern part of the United States are unique, and not necessarily in a good way. The shore line of most New England coastal beaches are littered with huge rocks. I looked up why this phenomenon happens but no explanation could cause my feet to find comfort. Walking the shoreline of Rocky beaches isn't very fun, if anything it's difficult to navigate. You have to take your time and watch each step.
Rocky shorelines aren't very fun and make the going more difficult. The same can be said about life's rocky moments. Those challenging times seem to spring up out of nowhere with little to no notice. They punch you in the gut leaving you reeling wondering what hit you. We would love to remove this detour, we want to take a short cut and simply avoid it all together. But what do we do when God brings us to the valley of this path and asks us to walk through it. Things like cancer, unexpected death, loss of job, divorce, and countless other undesirable experiences leaving us yelling 'anything but this' but God in His providence points His finger toward the unknown and scary. Uncertainty becomes a normal emotion. We don't understand why, we might not get an answer on this side of heaven, but God simply says trust Him. We aren't sure of the purpose but we know that God is faithful and good. We take the things that we have learned and now we do life. What can we do? How can we keep from drowning in disappointment, discouragement, and darkness? We need to take our eyes off the rocks and focus on the rock. Psalm 61:1-3 says "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy." We believe the background of the psalm is when David was fleeing from his son Absalom. Imagine the uncertainty that plagued him. Imagine the fear that would have invaded his mind. Try to measure the rocky Shore that he had to walk. And yet in the midst of that he turned his eyes onto the rock that was higher than he. May we take the same advice of David as we stop looking at that which is challenging and instead look to the author and the finisher of our faith.
Reflection for the week
Write down each rock that seems to weigh you down or is besetting you. Strike a line through each of those rocks and write Jesus name beside it. Take your focus and attention off the hard to navigate shore and make Christ the focal point. May He be so big that we can't see the rocks, only the rock!
