Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen... Psalm 77:19
I used to love going to the ocean as a kid, before Jaws that is :). I would take my very cool, very Styrofoam boogie board out to hit the waves. I remember how exhausting it was getting out to the breaking waves. It was amazing riding them in, crashing onto the sand, face or bathing suit full of sand. But the feeling of turning around and facing the incoming waves was altogether different! Unlike body surfing, diving under waves was not so easy when you had a board in your hands. I would try to follow the guys out but if they were even a few feet ahead of me the waves they cruised over would break on top of me! I can identify with the Psalmist and his "mighty waters" the way through them is not easy to find that is for sure.
I feel like much of my life has felt like those attempts to get past the breaking waves to find a chance to ride a great wave onto the sand only to turn and face the crashing waves again. It has been a whole lot of exhausting!!! But I have also learned that the physical kind of exhaustion does not come close to the soul-drenching process of what happens when you pass the breaking waves and get out to the deeper waters. I think life is much more than looking for the next wave. The next thing that will get us through the day. At times I think my waves are defined as a new shirt, a trip to the fridge, or even (this summer) another game of solitaire, must be the game for those feeling lonely :). Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that those waves will leave me with consequences, maybe on my credit card, scale, or lately in the form of a messy house because I would rather take the next five minutes to play solitaire rather than unload my dishwasher.
So why would I want to keep looking for the next wave??? Because if I don't I have to live with the deep water, that is much more disconcerting than finding waves. I would rather ride on top rather than see what is really beneath. The depths. It is dark, it is mysterious, and to be honest, it is full of fish and I don't like them. I don't eat them, and I certainly don't want to see them outside an aquarium. What I don't find in the deep is direction, no footprints to be found.
Isn't that a great passage? Don't you love thinking about that? Don't you love the picture. The Psalmist is saying, God you led me out here, now what? Where are your footprints? Where is the next step. There are not waves out here beyond the breakers, it is silent, it is peaceful beyond the waves but it is also incredibly unnerving!!! To be honest, I spend much of my time trying to paddle in a take the waves to shore, even when that means going back through the mighty waters. It seems a familiar battle, tiring though it is, it seems easier than looking for footprints under gallons of cloudy saltwater.
But the great news is that if you read that passage it truly holds some great hope at its core. His path, that means He led us. God is still there, in fact He is clearly laying out the way, straight through the mighty waters, right to the deep. And though we cannot see His footprints, that does not mean they have not been there. That does not mean He is not there. I mean, how in the world can you leave a footprint in that depth. It is dark there, you can only feel your way. You can only know your way, because even in the depth, in fact especially in the depths you can hear His voice...Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21
I have heard His voice in the depths. I have found direction there. There are no footprints, there is something better. There is insight, there is understanding, there is hope. There is something so much more exhilarating there than finding the next big wave. After all, who wants to fight those mighty waters when you can have the peace that can only be found in the depths.
