AWE

The past few days have reminded me of when I was on a cruise about two years ago... it was one of those "last minute deal" cruises... very inexpensive... and very last minute.. I know what it was so cheap, too. It was my fifth cruise, but, by far - my lease favorite. However, there is something to be said for the experience I had. The Lord reveals himself in ways that aren't always planned to us, and if places that aren't always perfect to us. But they are in his time and in his way.

While we where on the ship, we went through a tropical storm. In fact, it was the first storm of hurricane season. The hot Caribbean rain was brief because we detoured and passed through the edge of the storm fairly quickly. Not, however, quick enough to escape the rolling seas that caused the ship to rock, what seemed like, uncontrollably. Many of the passengers where sea sick and had quarantined themselves inside their boxy rooms. Others, not tending to the sickly, were somewhere other than the upper and outside decks. Ignoring the red and white “Warning – Do Not Open – High Winds” sign on the door to the Promenade deck, I made my way out to the open-air area of that deck and walked the length of the starboard side to the ship’s forward. Standing in the center of the ship’s forward deck in the middle of the night, there was no one else around. It seemed no one else had dared to ignore the warning sign. There I stood, at the forward most point the ship’s passengers could go, and all alone in the darkness of nightfall. I just stood there, taking it all in. Just to be there in that moment, I felt closer to God. I really wanted to pray, but could not manage to muster any words appropriate enough. Then it hit me. I was praying. Prayer is not communication so much as it is communion with God. I was communing with Him. I started thinking about this massive ship I was on: The M.S. Holiday. It was one of the first in Carnival’s fleet of vessels and is the smallest, weighing in at 92,104,000 pounds (46,052 tons). Though the comparatively small size of this - still - massive vessel, thousands of people went into laying it out, building it, putting it together, decorating it, and many other things that had to be done to get it ready to serve as a floating resort. As I stood there at one of the highest and most forward points of the ship, I thought about the thousands of people that make ships such as the Holiday possible. They are huge and breathtaking. Then I looked out in front of me and saw the expanse of the ocean all around me. Though it was dark, the white light from the moon managed to glow from behind the thin layer of passing clouds to kiss the water just enough to draw the horizon where the dark vastness of the ocean met the infinite and starry sky. I knew from one of the captain’s earlier briefings that we where sailing on seas upwards on a mile to two miles deep. There I was: standing alone on this massive manmade liner surround on every side by God’s beautiful creation. Here is the ship that took more than a year for thousands of people to create pushing along in this stretch of depth, miles of clear horizon, and under a spectacularly endless sky… all of which God created by himself with a word and in less than a few days. I was in the midst of God’s glory. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim His handiwork.” - Psalms 19:1. When John Piper was once asked to define “glory”, he responded, “It is like the word ‘beauty’. We all can use it and communicate with it, but to reduce it to words is frustrating. It is easier to point to examples.” I really feel like the Lord brought me out on a boat in the middle of the ocean, at that place and moment in time to really knock me off my feet. My past prayers for God to reveal His glory to me seemed out of place. If I know everything, including myself, was created for His glory, how should I live? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” In Matthew 5:16, Jesus tells is to, “let our light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” If I truly believe that everything is for His glory, everything I do should be for His glory. The problem is, I do not always fully believe in the Glory of our awesome God, my Father. If I believed it, I would live like it. If I truly believe it, then I should live like Moses and seek God’s glory and then resolve to claim it.