Living Water by Leason Dancaescu
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” - Psalm 139:14
I am sure that many of you are familiar with how surfboards are made, but if you aren’t or have never seen it in person, it can be a pretty brutal looking process from the outside. The board starts out as a big block of foam with little definition, the blank. Then enters the shaper and the work really begins. This shaper has intimate knowledge of the local conditions and waves, insight into what shape will work best for that locale.
They draw the outline on the foam and begin hacking and sawing away the excess, the unnecessary parts, to create the initial design. But the process doesn't end there, planers and sanders then strip layer after layer of foam away to achieve the desired rocker, rails, and thickness. It is a messy, time-consuming process, but in the end, it will be well worth it to create a craft ideal for local conditions. You see every board is designed for a specific purpose, a type of wave or condition. The shaper knows best which rail design, fin template, and tail configuration will be ideal for that wave and conditions. Try using a potato chip shortboard in XL conditions or a big wave gun in mushy shore break and you will quickly realize that not every board is ideal for any condition. It MAY work but it won't allow for the best surfing of the waves on offer.
So, what does this have to do with us?
What if I told you that our lives are that surfboard blank and there is a master shaper that knows exactly how to best design you to ride the wave of your life to its fullest potential, the potential that the Lord has placed in you.
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart.” These words spoken to the prophet Jeremiah are true in our lives also. The Lord our God knows us so intimately and loves us so much that he continues to encourage us through the words to the prophet: ““For i know the plans i have for you”, declares the Lord “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
God is that master shaper and he has long had an outline drawn on your life, a template, since before you even formed in your mother's womb. Throughout life trials may come along to grow us, to shave away layer after layer of unnecessary foam (or sin) in our lives shaping us into a more perfect representation of the potential the Lord sees in you. God is shaping your life into the life He has meant for you, for your purpose. Jesus came and died on the cross for YOU, so that you, each and every one of you, may have life and life to the fullest. He wants to see you shaped into the best version of yourself, to remove the imperfections and weak points that only a Master Shaper can see. You see the passions and talents you possess were placed into you by the Lord and He wants to see you use them for His glory. He has plans to prosper you, if you will accept Him as your Lord and savior and willingly obey His commands. I encourage you to accept and invite Jesus into your life, to ask Him what the purpose is that He has for you, to listen to the promptings He will give you, and to allow Him to shape your life for His purpose. Don't you want to ride the wave of your life to its fullest potential?
Just like every surfboard is shaped for a specific wave, each and every one of our lives is shaped for a purpose by the Master Shaper, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.