Never Surfing the Same Wave

“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” … “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? …”
– Isaiah 42:9; Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)

There is an old saying that goes, “You can never step in the same river twice.” Oh sure, you can go to the river over and over and place your feet in the water, but the river water you first stepped into, will have either gone down stream, been consumed or absorbed by some living thing, or have been evaporated, only to rain down and enter the water cycle somewhere else at some other time.

Similarly, you can never surf the same wave. The ocean moves in waves and the same formation of water molecules will never realign on any shoreline anywhere to form the same exact wave you surfed before. But you keep on surfing, even if you feel like it couldn’t get any better than yesterday or if you feel like yesterday’s waves were as good as waves gets. Some years, in certain times of the year, at certain places on the planet, surfing is better than others for those who patiently pursue the waves. So you keep pursuing the waves because you just love to surf.

Although the only waves around here may be “amber waves of grain,” there can be some huge spiritual waves for us to surf. I have experienced some great spiritual waves in my past, great times of spiritual renewal, discipline, worship, and fruitfulness. But, I am not satisfied with what I have experienced with God so far in my Christian life. I want to know God more. I want to love Him more and experience more of His blessings. I want to serve Him more and see more people come to experience God in greater ways in their lives.

We have to be careful of trying to re-surf old spiritual waves, especially when God wants to do something new in and through our lives. We can only frustrate ourselves in the present trying to realign the same elements from our past which the Holy Spirit of God orchestrated to bring about something glorious and remarkable. That wave may never happen the same way again. Times change, people change, hearts change, and so that particular spiritual wave has come and gone and can never be experienced the same way again. And I know that makes us feel reflective and melancholy, nostalgic and sad as we realize that wave of experience with God is gone and can’t be re-experienced the same way. Wisdom, then, would ask why pursue something that will never be the same and is constantly changing?

Instead, we must pursue with fresh passion the unchangeable God. He wants us to experience Him in new ways for a new day. We must actively and prayerfully seek out the movement of God in our hearts and lives and in our churches—letting Him create new waves of faith, hope and love in us. Sometimes, that may require us to get a new “surfboard” to ride the new waves, but, in some cases, our old boards may just need a new coat of wax to help us surf more efficiently.

I say all that to say, I know you want to experience God like you did in the past. But I know that you don’t necessarily want to or expect to experience the same exact waves—because they have come and gone. However, I believe you truly want to experience anew the exhilaration of changed lives, the excitement of renewed passion, and the explosive power of God’s love moving in our midst. That’s what I want, and what I believe God also wants for us.

So what’s it going to take?

The LORD says, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 – New Living Translation). We must be prepared for when God’s spiritual wave moves. But we have to get ready now, humbling ourselves, praying to God and seeking Him earnestly, confessing and turning from our sins, so that God will hear us, heal us, and carry us to new waves of blessing.

Will you prepare your lives for a new wave of spiritual revival? Will you seek a fresh and powerful new move of God in your hearts, lives, churches, and communities? Surf’s Up!