Typically, the sound of something crashing evokes feelings of fear or frustration. Not this crashing. No, the sound of ocean waves crashing on the shore stirred feelings of peace.
As I sat on the Carolina coast, away from life’s demands and distractions, I just watched and listened as wave after wave rose above the water’s surface then rolled onto the sand with a powerful yet tranquil roar.
Crash. Repeat. Crash. Repeat. Over and over again they formed in an endless cycle.
During the light of day. In the darkness of night. Through every season.
There, in an “ahh-ha” moment for my soul, I realized that those non-stop ocean waves reflect their maker, the Author of Creation (Romans 1:20), and were just the picture my heart needed to help grasp the truth of an eternal God who promises mercy and love without end.
It’s often quite hard to wrap my head around endless, especially living in a conditional world of fleeting experiences. As much as we long for good things to continue, sooner or later they come to an end. Vacations wrap up. Seasons change. We lose people we love.
So, reconciling my finite mind with a God who “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) and who’s “steadfast love never ceases” and “mercies never come to an end (Lamentations 3:22) can be quite a challenge.
But the truth is, God’s love and mercy faithfully continue, as sure as those waves endlessly crash against the shore.
On the brightest days. In the darkest nights. Throughout every season of life.
As so wonderfully worded by Sally Lloyd-Jones in The Jesus Storybook Bible, it’s a “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love” based not on our performance but entirely on Jesus exchanging our sin for his righteousness.
So, whenever we’re tempted to think we’ve exhausted God’s mercy, or he must be tired of our recurring failures, or when the dark nights and hard seasons make it feel like he’s against us, not loving us, we need to stop and listen as his waves of love and mercy crash over our souls again and again. Forever and always.