Wave Warning

It is a beautiful sunny day to drive to the coast. Do you want to come along? As we climb out of the car, we feel the fresh ocean air and hear the sea gulls crying. We hear another sound from the shore—the low roar of crashing waves.

“Let’s go down to the beach!” you say.

Wait—look at this sign. We stop and read the warning on the orange board: Potentially Hazardous Coast This Weekend. “What does that mean?” you ask. It says that the surf will be extra high, with breakers up to 20 feet! And “sneaker waves” may come up the beach when you don’t expect them.

“ ‘Safety Tips,’ ” you read aloud. “ ‘Never turn your back on the ocean.’ ”

We are still looking at the sign when a sudden crash surprises us. Nearby a giant wave sprays water high into the air. Wow, that was a big one! We lean over the railing to watch the sloshing ocean water below. Farther along the shore people are standing on the sandy beach.

“Can we go down?” you ask. “We can be careful, like the sign said.”

But as we walk toward the steps, we see more signs: Beach Closed—Dangerous Waves. I’m sorry. I guess it is too dangerous today. We’ll have to stay up here and watch.

“But those people are on the beach!” you point out.

It doesn’t matter—we’d better obey and be safe. Besides, we can still enjoy watching the waves!

Standing at the railing gives us a good view of the tossing ocean. “Wow!” you say, as another giant wave hits the rocks and sprays high into the air. “That was probably two stories high!” We laugh as the wet mist floats over us.

Excited shrieks from down on the beach tell us that others felt the wave, too. A mother is pulling her crying children back to the steps. “It’s not safe down there,” she says. “That wave nearly washed us out to sea!”

But two people on the beach seem to think the danger is fun. They climb onto a giant log and begin dancing around as the waves tumble in closer and closer. That is so foolish. They are just asking for trouble! Suddenly, when their backs are turned, a sneaker wave rushes up the beach and tosses the log into the air. We fearfully watch as the dare-devils fly off into the cold ocean water. As the great log is dragged back by the waves, it barely misses rolling over one of them! When both of them scramble back to shore and leave the beach, we sigh with relief.

“That was scary!” you say, clinging to my hand. “I’m afraid of those waves now!”

We don’t have to be afraid when we are up here where it is safe. That’s why those signs were put up—to warn us of the dangers.

“I’m glad we obeyed them!” you say. “Those people were disobeying, so that’s why they almost got killed.”

Yes, and that is just the lesson I believe God wants us to remember. When He warns us about something, we need to take it seriously. Just like the waves, God is mighty and powerful. When we obey Him, we can delight in what He does. But if we don’t, and just fool around, trying to get away with things, what happens?

“We can get hurt,” you say.

Yes, and there is good reason to be afraid. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,”* (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10) which means when we learn to respect God and obey Him, we will begin to be wise.

“And not foolish, like those people on the log,” you say. “Maybe they will learn to obey next time!”