Spilling Over

All beneath the moon will wane.

Everything on these shores ebbs and flows like the sea.

Everything beneath the sun will be eclipsed.

You will not find in time that which is only to be discovered in eternity.

 – Charles Spurgeon

It happens only a few times a year.

Everything is perfectly aligned.

Sun, Earth, and Moon line up in each other’s path.

Their gravitational pull affects the tides of the sea.

The strong pull of the moon creates an event called a King Tide. One morning I witnessed this phenomenon, as the waters of the sea filled to overflowing, splashing over its normal range, over the edges of rocks and breakwaters and shoreline.

By the time I finished making my morning coffee, the tide slowly rose to over 15 feet, spilling over the edge of the seawall and slowly rising up on the sidewalk below my cottage door. At first, the unusual phenomenon was fascinating to watch, but as the water level keep rising and rising, we began to be concerned about danger. A few miles down in the harbor the lighthouse spit was covered in water. In thirty years no one had ever seen the level of the sea this high.

The swell of the ocean reached its peak. And as slowly as it ripened to fullness, the tide began to recede.

Creation teaches us in its mysteries. God orchestrates the rhythm of the oceans to demonstrate the fullness of his glory. At the right moment of perfect alignment of the sun, earth and moon, the waters abound. 

He created that same nature in us, to hold the fulness of his glory, the moment He lingered face to face over us in creation. His face, in perfect alignment over ours, hovered over our just-formed body to breathe his ruach, spirit, into our nostrils.

At that moment we were perfectly aligned in his presence, filled with every pleasure we could desire, filled to enjoy all the senses he designed in us.

We were designed to be complete in this fullness. Yet our bodies craved more, and we reached out for the one thing God was protecting us from.

At that moment, the perfect alignment was broken.

Since then we strive to right ourselves once more.

To put everything in balance.

To have everything in perfect alignment, so that we will once again experience that joy of being filled to overflowing, the torrent of his spirit spilling over our boundaries in our body created to hold His abundance, fullness, and strength.

The King tide is a reminder of that overflowing and power and strength we were created to contain. When the orbit of the sun, earth, and moon is aligned, it creates a gravitational pull that fills the sea to overflowing.

In this phenomenon, He gives us a glimpse of his glory in the fullness of the moon and sea. This taste of fullness gives us a desire for more.

When the tide recedes

And the seas’ rhythm returns to normal.

Large pieces of driftwood float by,

remnants stirred up by the tide

reminders of the beams of the cross that make the way for us to live

in hope of fullness once again — in the strength of the King.

We have experienced those brief moments

when we are perfectly aligned with the King of Kings

in line with His spirit, and his word,

When we have a glimpse what of it will be like to be filled with his presence

A moment in worship.

A moment in prayer.

A moment in pure communion with others.

His spirit, his ruach, overflows within us,

Spills over the edges.

We raise our hands, our eyes, our hearts toward heaven for more.

The moment ebbs

And we remember:

You will not find in time that which is only to be discovered in eternity.