God’s Presence in the Struggle
Rose is a fictional character. This meditation is an allegory about the moments when worries, fear, and disappointment can overwhelm us.
Sometimes worries, deadlines, expectations, and disappointments come to visit us all at once.
Standing on the shore, Rose feels weighed down. As she walks with a burdened heart, her mind fills with what-ifs, work deadlines, and life’s disappointments. She doesn’t notice her surroundings. Her mind is too full. Everything else becomes unfocused.
Nothing feels important because she thinks the things occupying her mind are the most important. She focuses so much on her thoughts, her worries, and her struggles. She feels a heavy burden inside her heart. She doesn’t even know where she is walking. She is drowning in her own mind.
A great wave suddenly crashes over her feet, and she falls. She shrieks. She doesn’t realize she’s walked too far into the ocean.
She tries to stand, squeezing the sand and grappling for balance on the wet shore. Another big wave hits her, and it pulls her into the ocean.
No one is around.
It is already near sunset, and the tide is coming in.
God, she cries inwardly, reaching desperately with both hands. Her vision blurs between fear and survival. Then she catches a glimpse of the sunset.
That afternoon, the sky blends purple, blue, and yellow as dark clouds of night begin to take over.
Another wave of negative thoughts crashes over her.
She feels alone and desperate. She is very tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of carrying the weight of everything in her heart.
Then she hears a gentle voice in her heart.
“Don’t give up. I am still here.”
I am alone, her mind whispers.
I feel alone.
“I am with you.”
Her heart pounds harder. She recognizes the voice. Her eyes blur with tears. Then the memories come.
She remembers the times God has helped her. One by one, they roll through her mind like scenes from a life she has almost forgotten.
It strikes her that God has been good to her all her life.
Her thoughts begin to settle.
She fights and struggles to pull herself up. She keeps swimming, driven by the quiet hope rising inside her.
Her heart doesn’t need an explanation.
She knows.
Her heart knows Him. His presence is so strong.
He has been with her all this time.
He doesn’t need to say much. Her spirit recognizes Him. Through all her years of praying, she wonders why she has never truly surrendered to Him. Why does she always have to fight?
It dawns on her that God is always with her, in every situation.
He has never left her, even in her despair.
She begins to swim back toward the shore, remembering His faithfulness throughout her life.
A soft wave carries her toward the shore and leaves her gently on the sand.
She wipes the water and tears from her face. The water is warm. She blinks and looks around.
It is almost dark, but she can still see the ocean.
A little smile touches her lips.
“Thank You, God.”
She knows now that God loves her and is always with her, even when she feels alone.
Peace quietly blooms inside her heart.
A cool breeze brushes against her face, and she shivers a little as she gets up and begins to walk.
“Thank You, God, for saving me. Forgive me for my weakness. I am tired and disappointed, but I have faith in You. Help me and lift me when I am struggling.”
Would you like to pause for a moment? Take this time to reflect on a moment when you felt overwhelmed, or when hope started to rise amid difficulties. If you wish, you can whisper your own prayer now, or use these simple words: “God, I feel tired and uncertain, but I trust You to carry me through.”
The God who was with me in the middle of the ocean is the same God who walks with me on the shore.
God is always with us.
The waves symbolize the many forms of fear, worry, disappointment, and negativity that sometimes overwhelm our hearts and threaten to sink us. When you feel overwhelmed, pause for a moment. Breathe deeply. Remember times in your own life when God has helped you before, or whisper a short prayer asking for strength. Allow these moments to remind you that you are not alone.
There are moments when our souls drift toward gloominess, and everything seems heavy.
These are the moments when hope feels distant, and our hearts begin to struggle.
Prayer is where we bring all our burdens to God. We come just as we are. These are the moments when we kneel, clasp our hands tightly, cry before God, and place our weary hearts into His care.
And He is here.
He is there.
He is with us.
Every single moment.
All the time.
Even now.
He never leaves us.
