Moments to Remember

There can't be anything more perfect than quiet time along the shore, interrupted only by the crashing waves. The backdrop is the rising sun taking its place in a crystal clear sky. There's a certain intimacy with Almighty Creator that comes when you are smack-dab in the midst of His mind-blowing creation. 

The ocean stretches far beyond what I can even see. Billions upon trillions of grains of sand scattered along the shore, too many for any human to count, yet they outnumber His thoughts toward me. Yes, there's a peace that comes in these moments of realization of just how big God is, how small we are, and yet how infinite His love is for each of us. My coffee cup is full. My heart is overflowing. 

These are the moments we should build an altar upon. A testament to stand as a reminder of what God wants us to remember. He calls us to live in His peace and presence, not in the midst of chaos and turmoil. Too often our circumstances feel like the crashing waves ready to overtake us. Too many times the problems seem to outnumber the grains of sand. We get caught up in the current of what swirls around us and we lose sight of the vastness of who He is and who we are to Him.

All creation cries to You. The waves join in chorus with resounding echo, giving You shouts of praise, clapping in adoration. I cannot help but want to join in song to You. The hidden depth of its greatness remind me of how deep Your love is for me, even me! The neverending breadth that stretches beyond what I can even fathom stands to show me how far You were willing to reach for me. Limitless love. From my vantage point, the sun is rising in the east, but the sin You have cast from me might as well never be seen again. 

Your word says the sands are innumerable, too many to count. That thought alone is enough to make my brain twist in an effort to comprehend. It is the same thought I wrestle with when trying to grasp Eternity. As if that weren't enough for my simple mind to understand, Your word tells me these innumerable grains of sand outnumber Your thoughts toward me. Lord! Of all the billions upon billions of people who are and ever have been in the world, to think that the Father of them all would spend His infinite time thinking of me...I just cannot handle it!

Father, I admit sometimes I lose sight of Your glory in it all and I feel the wind and waves crashing around me. I bear the weight of my burden as heavy sand weighing me down. The great expanse of the horizon can seem overwhelming and make me feel as though the end of whatever I dread will never be in sight. In these moments when I forget, when I lose sight, remind me who You are. You created it all. You set it all into motion. Your hand controls each and every movement, from the crashing waves to the shifting sands. With one word You can speak and tell it all to be still. Father, remind me to be still in Your presence even when You choose to let the storm rage around me. 

These are the moments I want to remember. Mark this upon my heart. 

`Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD. `Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it. Jeremiah 5:2