ALIVE

Grains of Sand: Reflections from the MS Youth Conference in Ocean City MD

 

 

 

Every time I see the ocean, I get an overwhelming sense of the sublime.  It is a reminder of just how awesome God is and how small and humble I am.  When standing on the dunes, you can only see for only a few mere miles but it feels so vast.  Think about it- God created the entire ocean! 

The Psalmist describes these truths:

Psalm 139

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

…
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

…
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

…

 

Amp’d middle schoolers recently gathered in Ocean City, MD with to participate in the ALIVE Conference with other youth groups in the region.  When we stepped onto the beach, I had this same sense of how great our God is and how much he cares about each and every one of us.  There were so many grains of sand on our beach front (and stuck in our shoes afterwards!) that it would be impossible to count.  Yet even so, God’s thoughts for us outnumber the grains of sand in the entire world!

The ALIVE Conference was an excellent reminder of these same truths. With a super hero theme, messages proclaimed that God is our superhero.  Often times we try to be our own superhero and make things for in our own lives.  We cannot do it on our own and we need Jesus in our lives to come and rescue us.  HE is the real superhero.

Proberbs 30:4-5 lists just some of his super powers:

“…Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

⁵ “Every word of God is flawless;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

 

Not only is God our shield, but as Christians He empowers us and has chosen us to serve and honor him.  My favorite part concluding the conference is when the speaker reminded the middle schoolers that no matter how you feel, what you think or what you may have done, “You are worth it, you are worth It, YOU ARE WORTH IT!”  The creator God of the vast ocean says that we are His wonderful creation whom He is thinking of at all times and we are worth it!