WHEN THE WAVES COME CRASHING IN
There are times in our lives when we feel as though we have finally reached a good place. We have worked through past hurts and painful experiences. We have managed to get our heads above water, found our footing again, and begun to feel emotionally settled.
Then—BAM.
Without warning, another wave comes crashing in.
Suddenly, we are underwater again, struggling to catch our breath and fighting to get back to our feet. But every time we try to stand, the current pulls the sand out from beneath us.
Our heart has been shattered again. Our spirit feels broken. Our emotions are all over the place, and our body is simply too tired to keep fighting.
Why?
Why can’t I catch a break? Haven’t I been through enough already? Why do I even bother trying?
So, how do we get out of this?
Do we keep fighting against the current? Do we keep pushing toward the surface, grabbing one desperate breath before being pulled beneath the water again? Do we continue struggling to stand, only to be knocked back to our knees?
What are we supposed to do when we no longer have the strength to fight the wave?
Surrender.
Not to the wave.
Not to the fear, the heartbreak, or the voice telling you that you will never get back up again.
Surrender to God.
Surrender does not mean you stop fighting, stop hoping, or allow the current to carry you wherever it pleases. It means you stop fighting this battle in your own strength. You release your need to control the outcome and place the battle into hands far stronger than yours.
There are battles we cannot win by trying harder. There are waves we cannot overpower, no matter how determined we are to remain standing. Sometimes the struggle itself leaves us so exhausted that we forget we were never meant to fight alone.
Take inventory of what you are still holding with white knuckles. What outcome are you trying to control? What answer are you trying to force? What burden are you carrying because you are afraid of what might happen if you put it down?
What have you not yet placed fully into God’s hands?
When the waves keep coming, lower your anchor.
An anchor is not meant to drag you down. It reaches beneath the chaos, finds something firm, and holds. It does not stop the storm or prevent the waves from crashing, but it keeps the current from carrying you away.
Faith is not passive in moments like this.
It is choosing to believe when everything around you is shouting otherwise. It is speaking truth against the lies trying to take root in your mind. It is praying when all you can manage is the name of Jesus. It is planting your feet on what you know of God, even when the sand beneath you will not stay still.
So, surrender the battle—but do not surrender the ground God has already helped you reclaim.
Drop the anchor. Hold the line. Call upon the One who commands the wind and the waves.
And when the next wave comes crashing in, let it find you anchored.
Shaken, perhaps. Bruised and breathless, maybe.
But not defeated.
From the Founder’s Heart
There have been seasons when I thought I had finally found my footing, only to be knocked down by something I never saw coming. In those moments, surrender did not come easily. Part of me believed that if I loosened my grip, everything would fall apart.
But I began to understand that surrendering to God was not the same as giving up. It was admitting that I could not keep fighting in my own strength. It was trusting that even when I felt shaken, God had not moved—and He was still holding the ground beneath me.
If you are tired from fighting wave after wave, please know this: exhaustion is not defeat. You may feel bruised, breathless, and uncertain of how you will stand again, but you are not fighting alone.
Sometimes the strongest thing we can do is place the battle into God’s hands, lower our anchor, and refuse to let the storm carry away what He has already restored.
Invitation
Take a few quiet moments and ask yourself:
What am I still trying to control?
What fear, outcome, or unanswered question am I holding with white knuckles?
What truth can I anchor myself to when the waves begin to rise?
Write down what you have been carrying. Name it honestly—without minimizing it or trying to make it sound more manageable than it feels.
Then, beneath it, write:
I surrender this battle to God, but I will not surrender the ground He has helped me reclaim.
Keep those words somewhere you can return to them. When fear rises or another wave catches you off guard, let them remind you: surrender is not defeat. It is choosing whose strength will carry you through the battle.
When the waves rise, return to what holds.
Download the companion affirmation cards and keep these truths nearby for the moments when you need help holding the line.