Gracious Current

The shoreline may just be the most profound patch of glory you ever tread your feet upon. It is where the sure footing of the earth meets the bidding, prodding wave of the tides; where all certainty is lost and faith & wonder envelops. Maybe it's the rhythmic constancy of the tides, the restful assurance they carry. Maybe it's the glow of splendour in the setting sun. Yes, there is something profound about standing on a shoreline. A matchless glory, an unveiling of the Father's greatness & heart always grips me there. I'm learning it is on the shoreline- that place we find ourselves at a loss of control, a gaining of wonder, and a rest in the assurance of His great love- that we encounter His promises in the now. The still & yet beckoning nature of the shoreline is the place of entrusting. Entrusting your heart, desires, dreams, fears, victories & failures in exchange for the swift current of Jesus' grace.

This past weekend a friend stood beside me as the glowing sun set over a stilling body of water. She warned me of the strong undertow, that even knee deep it can snatch the footing beneath you, sending you drifting from the shore and into the current. I naturally decided to avoid treading in that water. And yet I was drawn to it. Memorized by it. Enticed. Excited. Curious. So, I repeatedly found myself kneeling near the lake, safely out of the tide's grip. I couldn't help but be gravitated towards the mysterious glory it held. And yet I would not submerge into it. I would not immerse myself into its tides. It is too dangerous, I'm too weak, I'm a spass and will probably drown, etc. But I left unsatisfied. A thirst stirred in me that was not quenched in my distanced beholding.

How much this is like comfortably gazing upon the Cross.

Here's what I'm saying. Beholding a glory beckons emerging into it. To truly encounter a glory is to plunge your entirety into it. Fears, failures, shortcomings, and all. This is what inspires artists to project onto tapestries, musicians to lyrically commemorate, writers to string together a series of words that declare. We are changed by glory. We were designed to. Our hearts cannot bear the weight of True Beauty. And so we are changed. Imprinted. Impressed with the conviction that the shoreline, though secured in its safety, is no longer where our hearts lay or where our eyes are set.

How much more Jesus should invoke a sincere and reckless abandonment of the comforts the shore offers. The certainties. The assurances. The false safety nets they promise.

The first sight of the Cross is much like watching a sunset from sandy shores. Beauty is encapsulated & exemplified & beckons us to drift towards it. You cannot see the Cross and Jesus' grace made manifest on your behalf and not move towards it. Glory calls forth praise, and the decibel of our praise is determined by the pace we plunge into the wildly untamed waters of His love. You see, drifting into the undertow of the promises & faithfulness of God will drown your fears and doubts, and in turn will resuscitate your soul. An element of uncertainty will stand with you; all moments preceding a daring glory know what it is to tread on fearful ground.

Run to Him.
Recklessly.
Devotedly.
Wholeheartedly.
The only reasonable way to respond to who Jesus is.

His love will grip you. It will pull you under the weight of His mercy. It will steadfastly drift you further from the stagnancy you once called home.

In losing the sure footing you have rested on you will win the assurance of the Secure Anchor.

I don't know what has you there today. Maybe, like me, the wind of instability, trial, and uncertainty has gusted you to the water's edge. Perhaps life has become too much so you closed your eyes & ran; you opened them again knee deep. Certainly if you're walking wide-eyed you understand you've already made your way there.

It's scary. We are unprepared.
Unsure.
Unable.

And that is the beauty of surrendering resistance to the current of Jesus.

He is prepared.
Sure.
Willing.
Able.

Sink or swim, we were made for this. We are a people made to be overcome. Not by fear. Not by lies. Not by insecurities.
Yes, we are designed to drift beyond the shore. Created to be swept into the Wave who crashes into our self-sufficiency, pride, selfishness.

Step into the water today.
Love incarnate Himself beckons.