Trust the Wave

Are the best surfers always the physically stronger ones?

It’s curious that one of the first things you learn as a surfer is you’ll never beat the strength of a wave. I remember that one time I almost drowned. It was at the beginning of my life as a surfer. I tried to fight against the waves on a beach that was not for beginners like me.

The truth is, as soon as you learn to stop fighting against the force of the waves, you start to understand better the basic experience of a surfer: how to go through those wipeouts. Simply let the wave do whatever it wants with you, as long as you stay calm. Don’t fight against its strength, for you will lose oxygen unnecessarily; instead, let loose and wait. But we also learn to take advantage of its energy while we surf. Meaning, flow with the wave, trust and enjoy; take advantage of its strength and shape to accomplish the best maneuvers.

Paradoxically, the strength of a surfer depends on the recognition of his/her own weakness compared to the power of a wave. The more you get to know the ocean, the more you respect it; even though you’re afraid, you learn to read the waves.

The apostle Paul expressed, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” to refer to how he saw himself in comparison to God and where he placed his trust (2 Corinthians 12:10).

God is for the Christian what the wave is for the surfer. When someone who isn’t a surfer sees a wave coming, they tend to run and escape because they fear its power and don’t want to find themselves entangled in it. They think it will hurt them, or it will catch them, taking away their freedom.

The surfer who really knows the wave knows not to run from it but to paddle toward it. They knows that with it they will be truly free and so they voluntarily enter its power. Flow with the wave and actually trust in its power to live fully. Even in the wipeouts.

“When you see a mature Christian going through a trial, it’s even more amazing than seeing a great surfer overcome the paddle of a heavy day. This maturity, unfortunately, comes through being stuck inside, pounded, held down, flipped around, and coming out the other side with stronger muscles and a greater sense of the ocean. You can’t fight the ocean and, if you don’t panic, it actually can be enjoyable while you’re taking a beating […] You can’t stop trials. Don’t panic; just allow God to do His work and when the trial lets up, you will have a greater sense of God's character and be more mature and just that much more ready for the next one” (Chayne Jobbins, Christian Surfers US).

Are you tired of fighting in your own strength? Take refuge in God. Don’t run from Him or His power. Trust Him, whether you’re enjoying the barrel of His blessing or going through a real-life wipeout that will make you stronger. Only in Him will you be truly free. You will live in fullness once you give yourself over to God fully, the same way you do every day in the ocean, with the waves He created.