I’ve always enjoyed standing on an ocean shoreline. There’s something otherworldly about this experience. One world seems to end where another begins…where one way of traveling must give way to another way. It exposes our limitations, yet holds out hope for something so much more.
It’s serene and comforting, yet formidable and overwhelming.
This is the way God is at work in us. He is constantly calling us to the “shoreline” of our own imagined security and into an uncontrollable and uncertain world that would seem to just swallow us up. We would never venture here if it weren’t for His calling us to come.
We may stand and admire the beauty of this vast Ocean from the shore, we may even feel its mist on our face, yet we will never truly experience it by staying where we are. Likewise, our worship must move beyond our predictable boundaries that make us feel safe but barely alive.
This is the paradox of true peace: it’s found beyond our ability to walk in our own peace, beyond the safe haven we’ve built on the illusions of self-preservation. Only Love will embolden us to traverse beyond our fear. Only faith and trust will empower us to go beyond our world into His. But it’s here, at this shoreline, where we finally find ourselves…and find Him.
This is where we learn not to live for Him, but let Him live for us…
Here is where we truly feel alive for the very first time.
Here is where every cell in our being shouts, “Hallelujah!”…yet our mind still recoils in fear and doubt.
Beloved of God, which will win the day? Love or fear? Faith or doubt?
Will we stay imprisoned in a cage of fear forged by disappointment, shame, and regret…or will we let His kindness and love lift us and fill us with joy once again? Will we let Him show us what He sees? Will we dare venture beyond the shoreline of our soul and into the deep waters that beckon us from heaven?
Hear His reassuring voice say, “Come!”
On the Shores
By Melissa Helser
© 2011 Bethel Music Publishing
On the shores of my soul I give You permission
To wash my tears away
And take all my disappointment
And fill me with joy once again
I’m gonna sing out loud
And let my voice be heard
It’s a song of victory
And it’s ringing in the earth
On the top of my cage I am sitting
Above the shame so lonely
Your kindness it has lifted me
To see the way that You see
Hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah hallelujah
CCLI Song # 7006880
In My Father's House 
“This is the paradox of true peace: it’s found beyond our ability to walk in our own peace, beyond the safe haven we’ve built on the illusions of self-preservation. Only Love will embolden us to traverse beyond our fear. Only faith and trust will empower us to go beyond our world into His. But it’s here, at this shoreline, where we finally find ourselves…and find Him.” (Mel Wild…On The Shores…)
“Be empty and see that I am God.” It is our emptiness in the presence of the abyss of His reality, our silence in the presence of His infinitely rich silence, our joy in the bosom of the serene darkness in which His light holds us absorbed, it is all this that praises Him. It is this that causes love of God and wonder and adoration to swim up into us like tidal waves out of the depths of that peace, and break upon the shores of our consciousness in a vast, hushed surf of inarticulate praise, praise and glory! (Thomas Merton…New Seeds…)
Dude, you are a poet, a master of prose…
Wow! Quoting me next to Merton…Dude…thanks! 🙂
Reblogged this on authorjodiwoody.
“This is the paradox of true peace: it’s found beyond our ability to walk in our own peace, beyond the safe haven we’ve built on the illusions of self-preservation.” This really sums up a close relationship with God. How do I act out true trust? How do I not fear the onslaught of challenging circumstances? I am such a control freak. I want to go to bed at night with all the “i”s dotted, all the dishes washed and put away. Bills paid. Healthy as a horse. But alas, rarely can it be so. Thanks for the encouragement, friend.
You’re very welcome, Michael. Thanks for your comments. So true what you’re saying here. We want to trust God but remain in control. Can’t do both. God is very patient and gracious to set us free from this illusion we call “being in control.”. 🙂 Blessings to you, brother.