It was the end of the year – the New Year’s Eve – and we stood on the beach, watching the sunset, and praying for our family, as had become our custom these recent years along this stretch of sea. We prayed for each by name, our hearts pouring into every praise and every request. It was a stirring time, of course, reflecting upon the past year, its blessings and its trials – and looking with hopeful anticipation into the next. And as we prayed, the sun lowered along the horizon.
The beauty of the sunset was unparalleled, the depth of its color seeming to warm the otherwise cooling temps as though to convey a message to me.
But I must ponder that message at another time, another sunset, as another powerful message was being presented directly in front of me – the power of the waves, the surging sea. No scientist, climatologist, nor any amount of technology can alter that power. It’s ongoing. Forceful. Forever. On this significant evening, the sea seemed to lift its voice, magnified by its pounding waves and bursting surf. It spoke a language I could not understand, its message rising to the Lord God on High, its Creator. Although I couldn’t understand the dialect, I easily detected its praise of the One whose power is mightier than this sea, even when combined with all the seas in the world – the Creator who rules all surging seas, stirring them to their greatest might or silencing them to the full depth of calmness. Each facet of these closing moments of the year articulated a story, one which I had been chosen to hearken.
“The seas have lifted up, O Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea – the Lord, on high is mighty.“
Yes, He is indeed mighty! His creation spoke of it this evening and displayed to me the epitome of praise, a model to carry into the new year.
( Read more Psalm 89:9, 93:3, 65:7)