Surf’s Up!
I have never surfed in my life, but I live near a beach that is famous for surfing. Every day of the year there are a number of brave souls, trying their best to catch the waves. The water is cold, but this doesn’t stop the surfers. My wife and I love to sit on the cliff above our beach and watch them do their tricks. You can tell who the professionals are. They can read the waves and are up longer than the others. They make it look so easy, but I am sure it is harder than it looks. Then there are the beginners. They have so many false starts and crash within a few seconds of getting up on their boards. It seems to take them many tries to actually catch a wave.
Our son-in-law loves to surf. He keeps his board at our house and when he visits us, he is sure to get it out and go to the ocean. One day we were watching him surf and after a few bad falls, he got up and rode that wave all the way to the shore. You could tell by the expression on his face that he was thrilled. What makes a person endure physical duress to become a surfer is that thrill of actually riding the wave. Spectators can never experience that feeling, and, of course, spectators come and go, but those that are actually in the water become the real thing.
I find this true for our spiritual life as well. Spectators never become passionate. They seem to be the professionals with their criticisms and comments, but they just don’t have the excitement of those that are actually doing it. I remember the first time I went with a group of teens to witness to people on the street. I was so nervous. It was so much easier to talk about witnessing, to go to a seminar about witnessing or to memorize some key verses, than actually doing it. It took me awhile to get up enough courage to actually approach someone, but after engaging some in a conversation with and seeing their interest in knowing the Lord, I became hooked.
The same was true the first time I prophesied and the first time I prayed for someone to be healed. I just wanted to sit back and let the others do it. But as I stepped out in faith, God really used me and I sensed His anointing. After catching the wave once, there is no turning back. Have you ever noticed that the spectators seem to know it all, as it they could do it better than those in the water? The fact is, they have never surfed. Jesus exhorted us to be doers, not just hearers of the Word.
Our town used to be known as a fishing village, now it is internationally recognized as a surfing hot spot. The change happened because some surfers began to surf our beaches and then just passed the word on to their friends. Revival happens the same way. Some get revived and then pass it on to others. The waves are always there. Jesus said: “The harvest is ready.” But there are still too many surfers on the beach as spectators. Jesus told them to “Go” into the harvest. Those that did returned with great joy at all that God had done through them. Just hearing the testimonies of others could never have given them such joy. They were now real surfers.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Luke 10.1-9, 17; James 1.22; Rev. 3.20-21;