Waiting for God's wave

Pentecostals love the move of God’s Holy Spirit like surfers love waves, writes Eric Gaudion.

Just standing upright was not easy.

The blast of the onshore wind onto the headland overlooking a rocky bay in my home island of Guernsey threatened to bowl me over. Though buffeted by the wind, I was intending to watch the waves bursting over the rocky outcrop nearby but became fascinated by the dozen or so surfers dodging each other in the surf and spray on the beach below in pursuit of the next big wave. Obviously passionate for their sport, clad in skintight wetsuits and clinging to surfboards, they amazed me with their commitment to their sport.

Suitable waves for surfing seemed few and far between.

What struck me about them, was the courage, determination, patience and persistence they needed to succeed. And success seemed to be a matter of getting up onto those surfboards, either kneeling but more often standing, and riding the crest of a huge wave for a few brief seconds before being tossed back into the maelstrom.

But the overwhelming impact of their surfing on me was created by their willingness to wait so patiently and for so long for that certain special wave to finally come their way, and to position themselves perfectly to catch it at the full! Pentecostals love the move of God’s Holy Spirit like these surfers love their waves. We share with them the thrill and exhilaration of riding the crest of God’s revival power.

But have we lost the art of waiting expectantly, poised and ready to go whenever God moves?

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