It was a sunny, pleasant day at the state park next to Lake Ontario. There was a gentle breeze and just a hint of fall in the air. Canadian geese and seagulls flew overhead. Only one sailboat could be seen on the horizon. Small waves lapped the shore.
As I meandered along the beach next to the water, I spotted a piece of driftwood that was worthy of a photo. I sat in the sand just above the water line and aimed my camera at the driftwood; I was waiting for just the right background wave to complement the driftwood in the foreground. I watched the swells of water out a ways, trying to judge the biggest and best one that would crest at the right moment for my photo.
As minutes passed, I studied the waves more and more. Then, I set down the camera and picked up my binoculars to aim at the swells and cresting waves. Whereas, before, I was perfectly content to be just a foot away from the water, suddenly, fear gripped me at the frightening magnitude of the oncoming swell and the force of the crashing wave in front of me. By looking through the binoculars I was sure I was about to be overwhelmed with a Tsunami and be swept out to sea!
Quickly, I pulled the binoculars down to look and be sure I was still safe above the water line. I remembered a verse in the Bible that says that God set the boundaries of how far the waters of the seas can come up on the land. Once I got that thought in my head and decided I could trust the truth of it, I looked through the binoculars again and began to enjoy the magnified illusion of frightening, monstrous swells and violently crashing waves before my eyes. God was not going to- all of a sudden- violate the physical laws of nature and let the water come up and grab me! As a result, I felt safe to continue to enjoy the adrenaline rush of being frightened.
Since then, however, I’ve wondered what it was within me that wanted to continue to “feel” scared by looking at the illusion of monstrous swells and crashing waves through the safety of binoculars. I wonder if it is like the thrill of riding a roller coaster- a frightening, but safe experience.
However, there are times when adrenaline-producing experiences aren’t safe. Some people like to live on that edge. They like to push themselves beyond the point of safety. Some examples might be- people who participate in extreme sports, people who push their bodies beyond the point of exhaustion to get rich, people who get involved in street drugs, people who have the money but won’t replace bald tires on their car, or people who assume pornography won’t hurt their marriage. Those are only a few situations that quickly come to mind. There are a multitude of risky behaviors we engage in-or have engaged in- if we stop to think about it.
TheBible talks about these things. God’s personality is such that He cares intensely for the welfare of all mankind. For that reason, when people deliberately put themselves in harm’s way and presume upon God’s kindness to watch over them, it is called “putting God to the test”. Jesus said, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Jesus said he came to earth that we could have life and have it abundantly. I've been thinking over the difference between living abundantly and living by putting God to the test. Sometimes it's not easy to know which of those we are doing. We probably ought to think about it and ask God to show us which we are doing- living recklessly or living abundantly.
If you need wisdom- if you want to know what God wants you to do- ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:4,5
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