
Oceans
Recently we spent three days on the Oregon Coast. I’d never been before and wasn’t sure what to expect. I was blown away! I absolutely loved the trees and beautiful mountain scenery. But then, it was incredible to also experience the amazing views of the ocean.
I’m always amazed when I look at the ocean. Our family went to the Texas Gulf Coast in 2002 and I wasn’t terribly impressed. (My apologies, Texans.) I’ve also flown over the Atlantic a couple times. But, I have seen, smelled and touched the Pacific. I’ve listened to its roar. It totally amazes me every time!
It’s no surprise how often we see the oceans referred to in Scripture. They’re referenced to describe God’s power. Psalm 65:7 describes God as the One “who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves…” (ESV). We also see Him pictured as He who “assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth…” in Proverbs 8:29.
We also see the Lord pictured as the One worthy of all our praise. In Psalm 69:34, we read, “Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.” And in Psalm 72:8, “May he have dominion from sea to sea.” The seas are used to symbolize God’s incredible nature — His majesty and glory.
However, there’s another trait of the ocean I find fascinating. If I were to board a worthy boat in Cannon Beach , Oregon, or Cambria, CA or any of the other places I’ve been blessed to see along the Pacific, I could, theoretically, go anywhere on the planet. I could sail to Africa or Japan or Iceland or anywhere else with a coast. That fascinates me!
There seems, in my mind, to be a connection. What are we as God’s people to be doing? Glorifying Him by sharing His great name with the world. Scripture uses the oceans to show us something of God’s nature. We can use the oceans to get to the entire world to share Him. (I know, we can fly…but even then, we cross the oceans!)
Psalm 98:7 says, “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!” Isn’t that what we’re to do? Roar God’s greatness like the seas…across the seas? We can. And what’s great is we can start right here…without crossing an ocean.
