When Oceans Rise

There are moments in life that stay with you forever; this would end up being one of those moments. In the blink of an eye, the ocean literally began to rise all around me. The next thing I remember, I was sitting in the back of a cave with my head throbbing as the cave filled up with water. A tidal surge had caught me with my head down as I walked along the edge of the cliff-lined shore. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. A wall of water had thrust me to the back of a cave that formed in the cliff’s side.

The only thing I thought to do before the impending impact was call out to God for help. And that’s exactly what I did. “God, help me!” I exclaimed. The next thing I knew, I was looking out through a twelve-inch gap of air between the cave’s ceiling and the water’s surface. The tidal surge was pinning me to the back of the cave. As panic started to grip me, what seemed like a million thoughts raced through my mind, but one in particular stood out. I had ignored that gentle urging of the Holy Spirit not to surf and foolishly paddled out anyway. Before I had time to even assess my surroundings, I felt myself being rushed toward the opening of the cave as the tidal surge retreated. Acting purely on instinct, I swam as fast as I could with the current, and just as fast as I had been swept into the cave, I was swept out of the cave.

Hands down, it was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life as a surfer and one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life as a Christian. I had made a downright stupid mistake, and the only one I had to blame it on was myself. I knew the cave was there but paid no attention to my surroundings. And even worse, I had chosen to disobey the Lord and as a result had gotten myself into a life-threatening situation.

Beauty for Ashes

A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir I have no man to put me into the pool.” (John 5:5–7)

The experience in the cave has always stayed with me. It’s obviously one that won’t soon be forgotten, but shortly after the incident took place, I felt as though the Lord intended to teach me something through it (other than the obvious one about obeying!). I searched the Scriptures, seeking some sort of verse or story that would bring a revelation as to the meaning of it all. The years began to go by, although I found great comfort in a number of Scriptures regarding the Lord’s faithfulness in delivering us from trouble, I still felt as though there was a deeper lesson I was to learn from the incident. Then one evening as I sat in a Bible study listening to the passage in John 5 being read about the healing at the Pool Bethesda in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit began to open my understanding and reveal a great truth about who He is. I finally felt as though the incident in the cave made sense.