Elia Maggang grew up spending much of her free time by the sea. Raised on the coast of Kupang, Indonesia, Maggang and her friends would swim and fish as they awaited the low tide that would allow them to play soccer on the beach. Now, as Maggang reads passages of Scripture that speak of the sea, describing its foamy waters and roaring waves, she thinks of those childhood days that taught her a lasting lesson: the sea is unpredictable.

In “The Raging Sea Is More Than a Symbol of Chaos,” Maggang encourages Christians to consider that the sea is not an inherently negative image. Instead, she explains, “many of these negative interpretations of the sea in Scripture emerge from humanity’s inability to control and master it.” In other words, we naturally struggle with the fact that nature is more powerful than us. So, too, we experience tension in view of God’s uncontrollability.

“The sea is a site of danger and fear but also of wonder and awe,” writes Maggang. “Both qualities can exist simultaneously, and both testify to our infinitely powerful and majestic God. The sea is not an enemy to defeat but a significant part of God’s creation that reveals more about who God is.”

As we encounter the unpredictable in our lives, may we remember that our uncontrollable God does not fear the wind or waves. Rather than raging against him, or against our circumstances, we can find peace in the truth that while we cannot know what God will do next, whatever it is will be for our good.