Under the Surface

Recently I had the privilege of snorkeling in warm water near a coral formation.  I saw beautiful, and strange, fish of amazing colors: bright yellow, reddish orange, green and blue, purple, shiny black and a velvety matte black.  There were green sea turtles swimming gracefully through the water. A pod of dolphins came to swim beside our boat for a while as we motored from one snorkeling site to another. And once in a while, a fin or a spout of water broke the calm surface. Whales down below! They were under the surface, unseen, but definitely present, even when we couldn’t see them. On the surface, we could see small swells as far as the eye could see. Under the surface – fish, reptiles and mammals were living and playing. There was much more going on under the surface than we could perceive above water, at first. Grief is like that – there is more going on, unseen but definitely present, as one travels along the journey of grief.

The following are some scriptures about what God is doing under the surface of our lives, unseen but really present. Because He is wiser than we are, it’s best that:

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.  Deuteronomy 29:29

God is at work for you:

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him.   II Corinthians 2:9

His plans for you are still good:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

He is preparing something delightful for you:

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  John 14:2

His motive is love for you:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

Therefore, take heart, trust His love for you:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. …So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. !! Corinthians 4:16,18.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1