Beaches, The Beach King, and Jesus

There are few things more peaceful than an early morning at the beach. 

The waves rolling in.
Seagulls calling overhead.
That cool ocean breeze.
Coffee in hand.

Basically, God’s version of a spa day.

Our ministry team had been generously given the use of a beautiful beach house for a day of rest, renewal, and team building, and I was fully committed to the assignment.

Rest?

I can do that.

Renewal?

Absolutely.

Sit by the ocean and stare at waves in the name of ministry?

I am gifted in this area.

So there I was, enjoying the quiet of the morning when suddenly...

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

What in the world?!

Coming down the beach was an enormous tractor pulling some giant yellow contraption behind it. 

It was loud. It was lumbering. It was chewing up my beautiful, peaceful beach.

Apparently, someone had failed to tell this machine that we were having a DAY OF REST AND RENEWAL.

And then I saw the name written on the side.

THE BEACH KING.

😂 The Beach King?! Well, hello, your majesty. Apparently, the king had arrived, and he had absolutely no respect for my quiet time.

I watched as THE BEACH KING rumbled past, scooping, sifting, smoothing, and rearranging the sand.

And I had to admit... The Beach King was doing something pretty impressive. It wasn't destroying the beach. It was cleaning it.

It was digging beneath the surface, pulling out the junk that didn't belong there, and leaving behind clean, smooth sand.

And somewhere between being mildly annoyed by a giant yellow tractor and laughing at the fact that someone had actually named it THE BEACH KING, I started thinking about another King. 

Sometimes Jesus disrupts the peaceful parts, too.

I love it when following Jesus feels like that first version of the beach.

Peaceful. Beautiful. Comforting.

The waves are rolling in. The coffee is good. God is good. Please don't change anything.

But Jesus loves us too much to only work on the surface. Sometimes, He comes rumbling into an area of our lives we'd rather leave alone.

A relationship. An attitude. A habit. An old hurt. A pattern of thinking. Something we've buried so deeply that we've almost forgotten it's there.

And He starts digging. Not because He wants to wreck the beach. Because He's making it better.

That's one of the things I love about Jesus. He isn't particularly interested in helping us look transformed. He actually wants to transform us.

And sometimes that means allowing the King access to what's underneath the sand.

This Week’s Faith Habit

Take five quiet minutes sometime today. No phone. No podcast. No multitasking. Sit somewhere quiet and ask Jesus one question:

“Jesus, what are You trying to change in me right now?”

Then be still. If something comes to mind, don't just think about it.

Do one thing about it.

Send the apology. Forgive the person. Delete the thing. Make the appointment. Have the conversation. Change the habit. Ask for help. Because faith habits aren't just things we believe.

They're things we actually do.

And the next time God starts stirring up something you'd really prefer He leave peacefully buried beneath the sand, remember: Maybe He's not ruining the beach.

Maybe the King is cleaning it. 👑🏖️