I’m not a huge underwater explorer, but living on an island in the South China Sea renders oneself to snorkeling from time to time. The experience is like jumping into the opening scene in “Finding Nemo” where the whole coral reef zips underneath you. There are so many colors and so many fish, it’s an underwater safari. This is what I was getting lost in when I suddenly saw my husband making frantic hand signals to get out of the water!
He had spotted a jellyfish in the midst of our water. Once we were back on shore, we climbed up the cliff to see what we were swimming with. It was a Man of War jellyfish–beautiful head, purple, and, most importantly, huge. Getting tangled up in those tentacles would not have been a pleasant end to our underwater excursion.
Jellyfish are mesmerizing and peaceful to watch, yet they all have stingers and some can kill a man in minutes. One would never guess how dangerous they are. When you watch them swim, it appears they don’t have a care in the world. They simply float and go with the current. There could be a storm above them, but they continue to push themselves easily in the water with almost no effort at all.
If only we could seek after God’s directional “current” in the same way. On the contrary, we are constantly asking for direction. What’s next? How do we get there? How do we do it? What do you want me to do? An answer now, please!
But for Mr. Jelly, the water current projects him to his destination. He doesn’t worry what may lie ahead or when to turn. He’s not in a hurry. He waits on the water and lets the current take him away.
I think at times God just wants us to wait, too. Could we surrender our agenda or our anxiety about the next? Could we stop striving and just “go with Him”? If we could learn to float like jelly and go with His flow, we may just reach the destination in a more peaceful and enjoyable way.
How can we be more like jellyfish in our pursuit of God’s guidance and direction?
Like jellyfish float and wait for the current to take them, we can sit and wait on His guidance by being in His presence. Worshipping and being quiet in His presence, not being in a hurry for an answer, or even expecting an answer every time we ask, are all ways we could embrace the example of a jellyfish. Jellies are 95% water. If we have so much of Him in us, maybe we will be able to “go with the flow” more easily.