"Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
Jeremiah 5:22 NIV
The word fear we can recall means, in this context, awesome respect and reverence. This is what God, the creator of the cosmos deserves from us. One of God's attributes is order. He ordered creation perfectly. He orders the stars, planets, and our world. He keeps the sea in its place with a boundary of the sand.
We do live in a fractured and fallen world. Consider the tectonic plates as literal, physical fractures in our planet. When those plates move, as in an earthquake, certainly the sea may violate the boundary of the sand, however; in short order, the ocean retreats to its boundary of sand.
The contrast of weakness and strength come to mind. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV states: That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Think of how the sand contains the ocean. We too are sand and can, through Christ with the Spirit's guidance, contain our challenging oceans of temptation, self defeating habits, and divisions.
It is by Christ's strength, in redeeming us from our sin and overcoming death that we are made strong, and despite our fear of our awesome God, need not tremble in His presence, and can live a life filled with the fruits of the Spirit: peace, joy, love, hope and self control.
What oceans, areas of difficulty and challenge, do you have in your life?
How do you bring those areas to God's attention?
Pray for all to be guided by the Spirit as they deal with the challenging oceans in life.
In Christ,
David P
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