Above the Waves

Can you remember that time when you felt like you were drowning? The weight of the world was bearing down on your shoulders? The darkness kept closing in and it took all your strength just to breathe? You wondered if God was near. Every call you made out to Him was a questioning moment in your mind as to whether He heard you.

I’ve been in that place. There was a time in my life when I felt all those things. I’d cry out to God over and over. Then I’d wonder. “Are you there, God? Do You really hear me? How much louder must I cry out to You?”

Much to my surprise, I didn’t have to wait long after my last ‘on my knees’ plea. He answered me three times. Not with an audible voice. Not with a handwritten message, or a leading to a Bible verse. He answered me with a song.

I listen to the radio – primarily, K-Love every day; and have for years. There have been many songs that I held on to every word, listening over and over again; learning the lyrics so I could embed them, not only in my mind, but in my heart. Songs gave me strength and pulled me through those dark years. I am forever grateful for the ministry of Christian songwriters and singers.

So about those three times….

I remember it was a week in the springtime. I felt nothing like the freshness and beauty of a spring day. Budding trees, flowers blooming, crisp cool air had no affect on me. Part of me felt crippled, part of me kept crying out to God. And then it happened. God came near to answer me with a song. I believe He clearly saw the impact music had on my soul. He saw the way music ministered to me, and so He chose to meet me where He knew I would listen, and do it in a way that only He could.

One song in particular was continually on my mind that day. I had listened to it so many times I knew all the words. Tears rolling down my cheeks, the lyrics streamed heavily through my mind as I drove down the freeway on my way home from work. Usually the radio is on as I drive, but for some reason I hadn’t turned it on yet. The words kept coming - “And I will call upon Your name. And keep my eyes above the waves…” In that moment I felt prompted to turn on the radio. The song playing was, 'Oceans', by Hillsong United, the very song I had been singing. For me, it was a ‘God moment’ saying “I’m here.”

A couple days later, the second answer came early in the morning. I had just opened my eyes waiting for the radio to go off any second. The song, 'Oceans', came to my mind as it often did. I laid there letting the words, once again, fill my thoughts. “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders...” Within moments the radio came on playing a song. It was set to K-Love. The first words I heard were from 'Oceans'. Another God moment. “(Just in case you didn’t get it the first time) Here I am,” He said.

The third time was at church the very next Sunday. I had never heard 'Oceans' sung at a worship service before, but that day it was one of the songs we sang. It was a powerful experience to hear it sung live and to join in with so many voices. Surely the heavens heard us. “I am Yours, and You are mine.”

After the song finished, I remember standing there in awe -captivated by what I had just experienced that week. Three times God had brought this song to me. Three times He had answered my cry. Three times He came near to me in ways only He could.

God has a way of doing things in threes.

It’s been several years since this happened. Through God’s love and grace, I have stayed ‘above the waves’. Every time I hear 'Oceans' play on the radio, I remember. I remember God came near. I remember He answers. And I remember He does so in marvelous ways. He still does.

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.

Isaiah 43:2