Sitting at the shore and staring at a body of water is always amazing.
Be it a calm lake, a rushing river or the noise ocean, it brings a mix of peace and might that is hard to untangle.
It can be a means to get somewhere as well as a barrier to go anywhere.
If I think of it as a representation of a problem to be overcome, a few scenarios come to my mind:
- For Moses and the Israelites the Red Sea in front of them was a problem, and God’s provision was to open the waters for them to cross in dry land. Miraculously the problem disappeared.
- In Noah’s case God could had provided a dry area, just big enough for his family and the animals, with the big flood taking down everything else. But that was not the case, instead he floated over the problem in his ark’s maiden voyage.
- Then we go to Jonah, who had to go under the water before being saved by the big fish.
- Peter had water between him and his Lord and, for a few seconds, he was able to walk on it. He got close enough to be rescued by the Lord’s hand when he started to go down.
It seems God has a sense of humor with the different solutions presented for the “water problem”, but the truth is that at the end He was always glorified.
He is the one “who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand” (Isaiah 40:12). He is in control, even when it doesn’t feel that way.
Are you in front of a problem? Does it look like a raging ocean?
Maybe God’s provision will make it disappear or you may be able to go over it. It is also possible that it will engulf you completely before you make through it. But note that in none of the examples the person solved the problem alone. They had to trust God.
God does not promise a life without problem, but He does offer final victory for those who accept His offer: an eternal relationship with Him through the death and resurrection of His Son.
One more note:
- Like Joshua and the Israelites in front of the Jordan, you may have to walk towards the water and step on it for the miracle to happen.
