Be my strong refuge,

To which I may resort continually;

Psalm 71:3

Are you have a “whale of a day” a “whale of a week”?

What do I mean by that question?  Sometimes the things around us and before us seem overwhelming (over-whale-mingly) large.   We can feel pressed and hemmed in on all sides by concerns, stresses and more.   It is in the midst of such pressure that I want to challenge you to learn a lesson from a whale.

God’s Creation is talking to you.  God tells us that He has put within Creation itself lessons and knowledge for us…if you will listen…

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. Psalm 19:1–2

Job would challenge us this way:

Job answered and said….“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;  And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;  Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;  And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Job 12:7–8

Consider the whale.

Though it looks like a big fish, in reality it is a mammal.  It does not have a gill system that allows it to breathe underwater, it must come to the surface to obtain the air it requires to live and breathe.  Yet, it still lives in the water, swims in it and can actually dive to incredible depths.  Yet, it continually needs to surface for air.   Whales can actually obtain enough air that they are able to go for a hour or more underwater before having to surface, but then surface they must to live.

Christian, are you and I like a whale?

We live in this world and for this season of time are unable to free ourselves from its bounds.   We must “swim” in it and dive through it, but we don’t derive our sustenance, our air, from it or in it.  For air – we must move above and draw life from the air of God’s presence, power and life.  With this thought, consider again David’s words in the Psalm 71.

Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually  Psalm 71:3

God is and desires to be the thing that you continually resort to – that like the whale you come rising from the press of the world around you and breathe deeply in and from Him in order to live.   Jesus said that such dependence was key for us…He called it “abiding” in Him (John 15).

Did you know that you were supposed to live this way?   For some, they beat themselves up mentally because they can only hold their breathe so long in this world, they feel as if thy should be able to “breathe underwater” and survive.  But that is not how God meant it to be for us – He meant and designed it to be that we would continually resort to Him.

One other quick thought.  One of the things that makes “whale watching” fun and a joy in our world is that not only do whales breathe in oxygen as they come to the surface, they often do so with gusto!   Jumping in the air, breathing deeply before they crash back into the water.  I wonder what that would look like in our relationship with God?  I wonder if we jump exultingly in His presence before we dive back into the press of the world around us. 

Today, if you feel the pressure of the world straining your spiritual oxygen, then simply say “oh whale” (Oh well) – and learn form the whale and surface in God’s presence for a much needed resupply.

Today, I want to encourage you even with my silly puns on whales, to resort continually to God’s presence all day long!  

Be my strong refuge,

To which I may resort continually;

Psalm 71:3

Jim