Sitting near the ocean silences the noise of human life, enabling us to hear God more clearly.

Streams in the Desert, L.B. Cowman

The seaside can be a great inspiration for many things; art, music, contemplation of life, decision making, and a calming of the soul. Why do so many people find comfort, peace, and serenity at the ocean? 

Have you ever taken a walk which leads you to the ocean? Upon reaching the ocean view you stop and stand in awe of its beauty and vastness. Standing in the midst of this massive beauty, one can seem so small and insignificant.

The first time I took my granddaughter, Ava to the beach she was not much more than a year old. Her parents were relishing their “sleep-in” while I decided to take her to see the ocean for the first time. It was an early morning, there was a slight breeze, and the sun was coming up beyond the horizon. It was so quiet. Ava sat in her stroller as I worked our way down to the shore. As we approached the edge of the sand where the water comes into view, I stopped the stroller. I looked at Ava and watched her simply stare. She was so still, eyes wide open, and the look on her face of pure awe. Ava is one of those children with unlimited energy and always very busy. So, to see her so still and quiet was a moment I will never forget. She had been touched by Him.

I read recently the idea that maybe God created so huge a universe so that His divine nature, power, and creativity, which seen by us would help us understand just how big He really is.

I don't remember seeing the ocean for the first time. I do know what it's like walking up a path, hearing the waves, feeling a breeze and suddenly the ocean comes into view. It's like taking a huge deep breath and knowing all is or well. I always say, “When I see the Ocean, I see God”.  Big beyond our perception, beautiful beyond our comprehension and never ending. Scientists estimate the size of the universe and measure the oceans depths.   We look out to the horizon knowing that it goes on and on beyond our capability to see the end. We sit in the middle or on the edge of something so massive we might disappear. We experience the continuous movement of the waves upon the shore, night and day, rain or shine. They never stop.

Amazing how God can set in place the tides, the waves, the surf…

We get a better glimpse of Him through His creations and more importantly, His Word, the Bible.

The following Scripture is from Job 38. Job is questioning God.  In his goodness, God answers him….

We get a better glimpse of God through His creations and more importantly, His Word, the Bible. There are verses that speak poignantly to me about the power and largesse of our God. I especially love it when God tells Job the He, the Lord tells the waves how far they can come, that He the Lord gives orders to the morning and the dawn.

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plans    with words without knowledge?

3 Brace yourself like a man;    I will question you,    and you shall answer me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?    Tell me, if you understand.

5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!    Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 On what were its footings set,    or who laid its cornerstone—

7 while the morning stars sang together    and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors    when it burst forth from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its garment    and wrapped it in thick darkness,

10 when I fixed limits for it    and set its doors and bars in place,

11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;    here is where your proud waves halt’?

12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,    or shown the dawn its place,

13 that it might take the earth by the edges    and shake the wicked out of it?

14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;    its features stand out like those of a garment.

15 The wicked are denied their light,    and their upraised arm is broken.

16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea    or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?    Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?

18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?    Tell me, if you know all this.

19 “What is the way to the abode of light?    And where does darkness reside?

20 Can you take them to their places?    Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

21 Surely you know, for you were already born!    You have lived so many years!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow    or seen the storehouses of the hail,

23 which I reserve for times of trouble,    for days of war and battle?

24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,    or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,    and a path for the thunderstorm,

26 to water a land where no one lives,    an uninhabited desert,

27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland    and make it sprout with grass?

28 Does the rain have a father?    Who fathers the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb comes the ice?    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

30 when the waters become hard as stone,    when the surface of the deep is frozen?

31 “Can you bind the chains[b] of the Pleiades?    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?

32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[c]    or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?    Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds    and cover yourself with a flood of water?

35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?    Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f]    or gives the rooster understanding?[g]

37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?    Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38 when the dust becomes hard    and the clods of earth stick together?

39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions

40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?

41 Who provides food for the raven. when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

" Sitting near the ocean silences the noise of human life, enabling us to hear God more clearly."

I pray that the next time you walk along the shore, tickle your toes in the surf, or simply stand in awe of the ocean you will remember the awe of God, that He cares for you

Blessings.