I just returned home from a fabulous trip to the beach. It was warm, sunny, and beachy. These are a few of my favorite things. About a mile down the beach from where we stayed there is a wall. Legend has it that if you walk to the wall and touch it, you will return. Needless to say, we not only touched the wall, we sat on it…and laid down on it…and made it a point to walk back and repeat the previous steps just about every day.
Sea Wall at Crescent Beach, Siesta Key, Florida
You can’t really tell from this picture, but there is a house that rests atop this wall. There is a small, rickety looking fence that surrounds the home. One day as we approached the wall I realized that this home is really afforded no protection from the waters that surround it. If a big enough storm arose, the house would be virtually defenseless from its violent repercussions.
I sometimes feel that way, myself. Life goes along fairly smoothly, a couple of waves may get a little high, but nothing I can’t handle. I can hang on until the tide goes out. But then the wind starts to blow. The waves seem to gain momentum with a ferocity that catches me unawares. The small fence I’ve built to protect myself from attacks is offering little to no shelter.
The enemy is good that way. He likes us to think we’re unprotected, powerless against the arrows he shoots our way. You know the ones… I’m not good enough. I can never be loved. It’s my fault my marriage is over. It’s my fault we don’t make more money… The lies that tell us we’re on our own, walking through life without hope or peace.
This wall on the beach does serve a purpose, though. It’s been there for years, keeping the house from falling. It’s the support. The foundation. The protection from the daily waves that crash against it.
Isaiah 26:1-4 says, “…We have a strong city. God’s saving power surrounds it like walls and towers.
Open its gates so that those who do what is right can enter. They are the people who remain faithful to God. Lord, you will give perfect peace to anyone who commits himself to be faithful to you. That’s because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever. The Lord is the Rock. The Lord will keep us safe forever.”
When the waves threaten to overtake you, fall into the arms of The One who gives perfect peace. The Rock. His saving power is the greatest, most powerful wall you’ll ever need.
