Day 18 | Pastor Scott Slate

January 24th – Day 18

Scott Slate

Beating the Waves

“I hear the tumult of the raging seas, and your waves and surging tides sweep over me. Through each

day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me, through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who

gives me life.” Psalms 43:7-8

I've always loved the ocean. I treasure the memories of spending days at the beach with my family and

friends sitting in the sand, watching the breaking surf roll onto the shore. When you're a child, the

waves can look pretty intimidating. I remember when I encountered them, my first inclination was to

swim the other way. But that would have been a mistake because the rolling surf tosses you every which

way, sometimes even holding you underneath the water.

I learned the best thing to do when the waves swell up is to swim toward them and dive under the wave

before it has a chance to break on top of you. A relief is felt as you hear the wave breaking behind you.

You have beaten the wave, and it's exhilarating. Waves of crisis and difficulty roll in from the horizon

and threaten to break over your life. Looking at them, they seem high and so insurmountable. Your first

inclination would be to run the other way, attempting to escape those frightening problems, which only

tosses you into a fury of entanglements and frustrations. The best way to beat those waves of trials and

tough challenges is to face them head on. With God's grace, you can get through it all. Oh, the relief

when you know that the problem is behind you. With God's help, you have beaten it. What an

invigorating feeling.