There are few things as refreshing to me as standing on the shore and watching the ocean waves. I have always loved it. In Scripture the sea represents change. It is never the same.
Life’s journey is in many respects a voyage. We have launched out, but we have not yet landed. The tide is always changing – it is the ebb and flow of life. Tides come…and they go.
This is why preachers are instructed to “be instant in season, out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Every season is not the same! Circumstances change. Quickly. Much of the ministry is helping people through the transitions of life. To do this, you must learn to handle those transitions yourself.
Emotions are some of the most changeable things on earth. John R. Rice went so far as to write, “We all serve God with mixed emotions.” I am beginning to understand what he meant.
My moods change from time to time. The tide is at low ebb. It is at that moment that I must remember that God is not moody. He is never having a bad day. I can hear Him declare, “I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). A.B. Simpson said it well: “All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His name!”
Someday the tides will stop. The oceans will be still. John said, “There was no more sea” (Revelation 21:1). No more unsettledness. No more change. No more ebb and flow. We will be with the unchanging God forever.
Until then, expect change. When all is at high tide do not get swept up in the rapture of the moment. Rejoice in God’s blessings but rest in Him. When the tide ebbs low, remember that the One who holds the oceans of this world in the palm of His hand has you in His hand as well. He never changes.
