Grace Like a Wave: It Bears the Weight

Read |Romans 8:1 -14|
(We recommend reading this in The Message Version)

I love the sea. I love the lapping of the waves and the saltiness of the surrounding air. I could sit in its embrace until my skin crinkles. Last summer I had the opportunity to do just that. After slowly entering the cool waters, I sank under its covering-a protection from the blazing Jamaican sun. My niece was with me and soon we began playing a game my Godmother taught me as a child: we began to ride the waves.  Wave riding is the easiest and most gratifying game any child could play. These are the rules:

1. Stoop so that the water covers all your body, except what lies above your shoulders.
2. Watch for the waves. You have to pay attention to their arrival. You have to anticipate them coming.
3. Give your weight to them, i.e. ride over them as they roll under you.
4. Go through steps 1 - 3 at your new resting place in the sea.

The end result is that you are carried by the waves from your shallow starting point to a place far beyond your origin, with greater ease than if you had set your mind to swim. It is slower. Unhurried. It takes time.

As I rode these waves I heard the Holy Spirit speaking to me. He was saying, "This is the way I want you to travel. From shallow to deep. Without striving. I am the wave. Let me carry you. Yield your weight. Let me roll under you. Let me carry you from here to there, all your life. Your only work is trusting. Your only work is yielding. Expect me to show up."

Grace is like a wave. It is the supernatural enablement to do what we cannot do in our own strength. And set before us is the mark of the high calling in Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:14). It is a mark that makes us, in our frailty, quiver. We know we are inadequate. We know that we cannot muster what it takes to travel this pilgrim's road without stumbling to calamity. We need help. And there is good news! Jesus Christ is our help. He is not only our Savior. He is our help in the day-to-day working out of our salvation (not that we can lose our right standing with God or that we must work to keep it, but that we may show forth the fruit of the Righteous Seed that has been planted within us). Jesus is helping us to do and carry out His good and pleasing purposes by His Spirit. His Holy Spirit is our enablement. (Philippians 2: 12 - 13).   And as it pertains to righteousness, He is lacking nothing.

He takes us from the shallow pool of salvation to the depths of a life wholly surrendered to God: spirit, soul and body. He takes us by His incomparable strength to the point of faith where we live on this Word: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). We cannot meet the mark in our own strength. (John 15:5). It is Jesus Christ alone who has met the mark. He is the fulfillment of the law-found to lack nothing. He alone is righteous and on Him we rely to move forward in our life with God. (Matthew 5:17 - 20).

Moving forward is what happens when we live in and by the Grace that saved us. Salvation is an indescribable gift. But, God has done exceedingly and abundantly above all we could ever think, hope or imagine. He has made it possible for us to live a life victorious in Him. He made it possible to live a fruitful life. (Galatians 5:22 - 23). There is eternal life here to be lived, even as we look forward to eternity. (John 10:10 and Ephesians 3:20 - 21). And the way is not by becoming stronger. (Zechariah 4:6 and John 15:5). It is by relying on Him, who is full of grace, i.e. the embodiment of grace. Jesus Christ is His name. (John 1:14). 

Wave riding is the easiest and most gratifying way of life you can ever live. It is the life you have been called to in Jesus Christ. His grace is like a wave. Ride it as a child would. Let Him bear all the weight. Let Him take you deeper.

Reflect and Apply:

1. In what ways are you trying to make things happen in your own strength? In what areas are you swimming, instead of riding the wave? Consider all areas of your life, i.e. spirit, mind, body, relationships to God, self, others and things.
2. You can identify places of false beliefs by pinpointing the areas of your greatest struggles. Where are you struggling to honor God in your life? Pray for God to reveal this to you, along with the false belief that supports your entanglement. Use the concordance of your Bible to identify related Scripture and use our Be-Held Devotional Bible Study Guide to help you meditate on them. Take a step forward by trusting in the Grace that saved you to carry you safely towards the mark, as established in and by His Word.​

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Go Deeper

As Be-Held Women we believe that true self-care is accomplished in a lifestyle of intimacy with Jesus Christ. We take care by drawing near to God through seeking and living the truth of God’s Word, by the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. We are confident that in living the truth by His Holy Spirit we will be transformed into women who bear the image of Jesus Christ in spirit, soul and body-women who are empowered to bless many.  Dear Be-Held Woman, seeking, living and being transformed by the truth of God's Word, we offer you this Bible study guide to support you in your endeavors! Apply it to this week's Scripture readings.

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