The Current Collide

Regardless of what led us there, winding up in that massive teaming body of water known as the ocean has given us at some point, a taste of the strength and power of the waters that surround us on the planet. Whether we were being sucked out to sea or shoved with water; the untamed ebb and flow of a fluid substance attempting to outmaneuver us is unlike anything else we experience. The world of Aquaman (the ocean) is dictated and dominated by currents. Some are stronger than others, some have a specific destination, while others flow in and out opposite to the rest. Sometimes these currents are visible, as if someone split the water into sections resulting in a spectacle of foam and clear water crashing and splashing into each other. These are currents.

Jesus wasn't the first (or the last) to perform miracles. God has been in the miracle business from the beginning of it all. God's Old Testament miracles were pretty large scale and mostly involved large groups of people as either part of the miracle or watching the miracle happen. Jesus came onto the scene performing His first miracle turning water into wine at the wedding, and from that moment on He changed the definition of what we consider a miracle to be. See before Jesus, humans weren't walking around laying hands on each other and altering time; Jesus (by example) turned the miraculous into a lifestyle.

John 14:12-14 (NIV)

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Hang on, did Jesus really say that the works that He did, we will do (even greater)? Did He also say He will do what we ask of Him in His Name? Sure, we know this scripture. But the question we keep asking is, WHY AREN'T WE DOING THIS SCRIPTURE?

Water is a BIG DEAL in the Kingdom of God. Water is a source of life. The sea was part of the FIRST THINGS EVER MADE, EVER. In Genesis 1:2 the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters. In fact, the ocean (the sea) is the closest representative to God our Father, here on the planet. The ocean is formless (unconfined), stable and unchanging, water plays a MAJOR (unseen) part of our eco system and we need water to live. Water like the Holy Spirit, can adapt to whatever shape or size it must fit in with. Water was used as one of the first (and most accurate) methods of measuring exact levelness (or rightness). Water is included within the first verses of the first book of the bible and it is also mentioned in the last verses of the last book of the bible (Revelation 22:17) and everywhere in between.

John 4:14 (NOG)

"But those who drink the water that I will give them will never become thirsty again. In fact, the water that I will give them will come in them a spring that gushes up to eternal life"

Jesus gives a blazing clue here in John 4. He points to the provision of God the Father through the example of water. When we think about that for a moment and then perhaps we make our way to a beach (online or in person) we can see the resemblance, can't we? In the ocean, there is always movement, even if we can't quite see what is happening. In the ocean, there are always waves, even if they are tiny and not as visible as the surfing kind. Sounds a lot like God Himself. One man of faith once said

"God and the ocean are both expected to show up and are both unpredictable to do so"

and to that we say, true.

Since we can see the parallel between our Heavenly Father and the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of water in its natural environment, we should make a concerted study of this to understand the miraculous side of life. Jesus Himself used water as a metaphor for TRUST in God outside the limits of boat riding and the inventions of man. Even as Jesus stepped out of the usual and into the unusual, He was met with unstable and challenging circumstances that He had to process quickly. Jesus was always in control no matter the stormy weather or a perfectly calm situation, He was in charge. Jesus understood that the variations that can effect water such as outcroppings, rocks, holes, rugged terrain, and shifting tides, along with the winds have an effect on the disposition of the water. Understanding these things, Jesus was authorized to override the science and conform the bodies of water that He encountered. The purpose? To miraculously yield the strength of the water, to Himself. This makes Jesus the ultimate wave shaper and water master; and in kind, this makes us the same.

God's provision (like the waves in the ocean) is constant, in full supply and ready with another setting up right behind the last. See provision, as a way of doing life totally reliant upon God as THE PROVIDER, looks miraculous to anyone whose perspective is based on human thinking and problem solving. This is because it IS miraculous. For those of us who choose to live a super natural life, it's a Tuesday. Or any other day for that matter, because it is our daily expectation. Not because we deserve it. Not because we want to one up anyone else. Not even because we want to prove that we are God's favorite (even though we know we are, smile). The reason is simple, because God started it. He provided Jesus, and Jesus provides EVERYTHING the bible says we have been provided with; from Matthew to Revelation and as a nice cherry on top, we get the things from Genesis to Malachi as well.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The authority that Jesus operated under is the same authority that we have. Remember, we are going to do greater things than those things that He did. Greater things equals greater authority. Why? Because Jesus spoke these words BEFORE He was sacrificed as a way to ensure that all that He had while He was on the planet is now ours. And beyond that? After Jesus was raised from the dead, that authority and those miracles are now expected as OUR lifestyle (as a follower of Jesus). Same same. Jesus had all that He needed to live a full, loving, healing, celebratory and miraculous life and here's the news flash: we have the same stuff.

Think of it like this. With the ocean as our ultimate example, natural/physical life that we can touch and see and reason with is likened to the surface of the water; underneath that surface is a whole other world with a completely different environment with different rules and methods, moved by currents and led by the wind, this would be the super natural/spiritual life. Most Christians enjoy a boat ride now and then and perhaps once in a while they jump off the boat and have a swim, some of them even get some gear and go scuba diving, frolicking in the liquid for long spurts; but it would be quite UNUSUAL for anyone to LIVE underwater, wouldn't it? Well, they just keep coming in today, another news flash: THIS IS WHERE WE BELONG. We were MADE FOR THIS. The ocean is most definitely IN this world that we live in; but it is equally most definitely not OF this world (John 17:16). Sounds familiar, right?

Listen, the next time that we are hit straight in the face with a challenge, instead of running and screaming or hiding to get away from it; embrace the moment as God has provided us our means to a miracle in middle of the mess, in other words IT'S ALWAYS TUESDAY.