I want to catch waves.
I guess I’ll start off by explaining the title.
A fellow Vineyard guy was describing how the moves of God can be comparable to waves in the ocean. Sometimes they’re big. Sometimes they’re small. But there are always waves – at least somewhere. Right now, especially in places other than USA, God is moving very dramatically; healing, saving, signs, wonders, all that stuff. But he is still moving right here in the good ol’ USA too. In the Vineyard, we’ve experienced some pretty dramatic waves in our short history.
We can’t make the waves come. We can’t pray enough, fast enough, slap the water, or dance on the beach, and make waves happen. But we can watch. We can pray for eyes to see, ears to hear. My assumption is that God is moving. (I think that’s an important assumption.) We can’t make waves happen, but we can miss waves. We can stand on the beach and watch. And criticize. And critique. Even admire. Or ignore. Or look the other way.
I want to catch waves.
To catch a wave (as a surfer would), you have to wait. Sometimes those times of waiting can be really meaningful – out in the water, hearing the lapping of the waves, enjoying the serenity. It requires patience, and anticipation. I guess it’s pretty easy to say you’re waiting while being occupied with something else. But a surfer is in the water for the express purpose of catching a wave, and he/she anticipates. When a wave start coming in, it requires a lot of effort to ‘catch’ it. For one thing, you need upper body strength, to pull yourself forward, and join the energy in the wave. Catching waves of the Spirit require watching, praying, listening, knowing what to recognize, organizing, planning, and other kinds of effort to join in on what God is doing.
You know, Jesus said that he did only what he saw the Father doing (John 5:19 for example). He didn’t just go around doing good things, or religious things, helping people and all that stuff. He obviously walked by this guy at the gate beautiful plenty of times who could have used a healing (check out Acts 3, esp vs 2). This is pretty much what I mean by catching waves. Seeing what God is doing. Being aware of what he’s saying. Discerning what he is doing in someone’s life. Watching for it. Anticipating it. Expecting it. He’s moving. His waves are coming in.
I want to catch waves.
