Rest may seem like an alien concept. This life is busy, chaotic, disturbing, frustrating, and seemingly everything except restful. Even life with God overflows with so many demands and sadness that sometimes it feels as if life with God is even more devoid of rest than life without God. It is true that life--with or without God--is packed with every sort of rushing and crashing. That's because life and the world do not change when you become a Christian. At all times for every person, life is very much like a mighty ocean. Tides push and pull you every which way. Sharks snap at you. Whales swallow you and take you to the dark ocean floor. Nothing is in your control, and the more you try to grab at control, the more everything slides through your fingers like water. Control is unattainable. Rest is elusive. Helplessness against the ocean is all you can obtain on your own.
The difference between life without God and with God is not that the ocean changes but that you change. Instead of being expected to act as a tenacious little fish with fins that believe they can overcome the tides and sharks, you are reshaped into a pebble. At first that change does not seem helpful. In fact, it is quite alarming. As a fish you could at least try, but as a pebble you can't even pretend to do anything but helplessly encounter the ocean. As a pebble you just have to humbly accept you are a helpless pebble in the ocean. That is disturbing until you truly accept it and ask God for help.
When you stop miserably sinking and let God take control, you realize that your fight against His tide was the forced preventing you from falling into rest. God's tide--the way He moves you through this ocean of life--does not necessarily take you where you plan, expect, or want to go; God's tide takes you to an unexpected place of rest. That rest is a beautiful hidden shelf of coral, a place where you can feel God's tide while resting from its movement and peacefully view a glimpse of His loving desire for you to just enjoy being with Him. Only when you stop fighting the tide of God's control will you find rest in His tide.
#Helpless #overwhelming #christianwriter #christianblogger #christianblog #christianliving #letgoandletgod #godlovesyou #Pebbleintheocean #outofmyelement #ocean #navigate #pray #help #Godhelps #trustGod #askGod #enjoytheocean #restinGod #Rest #life #lifewithGod #HAPruitt #missouriauthor #heatherpruitt #metaphorforlife #Godsway #control #tide