LESSONS FROM THE SEA

Late yesterday afternoon, we drove over to our friends' campsite in a beautiful stand of woods on the Atlantic Ocean. Talk about heavenly? I'll say!

And they know how to camp: a luxurious 31-foot trailer with electric push-out sides that make a big living room and dining area, plus a master bedroom, bath, kitchen, and a mini-bedroom.

Here we are in reclining lawn chairs, enjoying the Life of Riley (relaxation) right before we grilled luscious steaks over an open fire. While there, we rode bikes, walked, and took a jaunt down to the ocean. As I walked on the beach, I couldn't help thinking of all the verses in the Bible that mention the sea. The beach always lulls me; it's so peaceful--the views as well as the sounds. I love going there, as often as I can.

First, I thought of the scriptures that talk about Jesus sitting by the sea and teaching by the sea.

Then I thought of the promise to the Israelites. They would be so profuse, God compared them to the sands of the sea when He spoke these words to Abraham: "I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore...through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:17). That's a lot of descendants and blessings, judging by these pictures of the sand (I even came upon some sand castles).

Psalm 24:1,2 says: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters."

Psalm 93:4 says: "Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea--the Lord on high is mighty."

That's some awfully big "mighty" because this one ocean--and there are so many on earth--is so vast and so deep.

Here's a really neat scripture that'll help you when you're in a tight. I'm sure you know it. It's the story of the Israelites reaching the Red Sea when the Egyptians were chasing them. What to do? What to do?

"Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left...Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians...The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharoah...not one of them survived" (Exodus 14:21,22,26,28).

God will help you in your trouble! He will deliver you!

The last verse that references the sea makes my eyes grow moist: "You (the Lord) will have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

That's good news! He's hurled our sins into the ocean, never to be found or remembered! That's worth rejoicing over!