Just Bobbing Along
By Elin Henderson
“For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens…”
Psalms 57:10a (NKJV)
There is nothing quite as relaxing as lazily floating along on a raft soaking up the sun in a solitary pool or a quiet stretch of ocean, being rocked gently on the water’s surface. I am sure this conjures up a pleasant but distant memory for many of you currently trapped in winter’s cold grip.
Recently, my husband and I were listening to a message on the New Testament book of First Peter by A.W. Tozer (1) and he made a comment that has stuck with me. He said, “We are all afloat on the sea of God’s mercy.” In other words, we are all just bobbing along in constant dependence on God’s mercy to keep us afloat.
Often, we fail to realize that it is only by His mercy that we get through each day. We are saved by mercy and maintained by mercy. None of us can get by without it. Whether we recognize it or not, we are ALL afloat on the same sea of God’s mercy. Each day that an unsaved person lives and breathes, it is because he is afloat on this sea of mercy; God is graciously giving that person one more day to turn to Him. Each day that we, as believers, live and breathe, we do so while bobbing along on the same sea of God’s mercy. Even though He fully recognizes our faults and issues, He still loves us, accepts us, and is committed to working with us.
This mental picture has helped me a lot recently. When I find myself getting frustrated with others, I remember, “Hey, we are all afloat on the same sea here. I need God’s mercy as much as that person does.” When I become proud and think I have it all together, I am reminded that I am in need of His mercy just as much today as ever before. I am not floating along here on account of my own merit, but on account of His great mercy.
So as you face another winter morning, take a minute and imagine yourself on a secluded beach, floating along on the sea of God’s mercy and see if that helps you to bob along through your day!
GOING DEEPER:
1. How can knowing this help us as we tell others, who don’t know Him, about Christ? How can we share with them the mercy that is keeping us and them daily afloat?
FURTHER READING:
Psalms 33:2; Psalms 36:5; I Timothy 1:16
(1) A.W. Tozer, Introduction to First Peter, http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=6
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to eleven-year-old Callie and nine-year-old Elias.
