Surfs Up

Just bought and watched Soul Surfer. I watched it in the theatres and loved it. The special features on the DVD made it a good buy.

After watching it, I am in awe at the way God works. Bethany Hamilton is, by all accounts, a brave, strong, Christian young woman. When that shark took her arm, though, she was a thirteen year old girl! She was 13!! She was also nearing the top of a sport that is known for its bikini-clad babes and adrenaline junkie men. The surfing world she lived in was far removed from the praise-filled halls of most Christian churches. Spiritually, it was a fairly dark world...and God was about to light it up!!
Bethany faced a test from God that was tough. God could have very well stopped that shark; He could have done a million things to keep it from biting her arm off. But He didn't. And in short order He was able to reveal a small sliver of His plan. Bethany would be assaulted by nearly every media agency in the world...and she gently brought the name of Jesus to every one of them. That little girl became a light in the dark world she surfed in. And, thus far, seems to have remained centered on the Lord. I pray she remains so!

In Bible College I took a course on the book of Matthew and noted over and over again the power and wonder of Jesus' ministry. I recently studied through Acts and saw the same awesomeness in Paul's ministry. A reoccurring question of mine is: Where is that awesomeness now? And the answer I believe to be the right one is this: There are very few Bethany Hamilton's out there. Let me explain...
Should the aforementioned awesomeness descend on me I would most likely not have the humility, pureness of heart, or love for Jesus to give Him all the glory. I would be seduced and tempted to keep some of the glory for myself.
This is why it was so inspiring to watch a young 13-year old surfer girl from Hawaii overcome tragedy and go on MTV and proclaim her love for Jesus. Wow. I love seeing how God worked in her life.

Create in me a clean heart, O Lord. And renew a right spirit within me.