Water, water, everywhere

One of the things I learned from being an English major is that symbolism runs through literature so much that you rarely get it all on the first read. One of the things I'm learning as a Christian is that symbolism runs through the Bible so much that you never get it all on the first read.

I've already shared a bit about Isaiah 43 and how the promises in those verses have encouraged me. But this morning I was reading Psalm 77 as I drank my coffee, and the verses took on new meaning in light of the Isaiah passage...

God promises in Isaiah, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you." And it made me see the waters as symbolic of troubles and trials and stresses that threaten to overwhelm.

So when I got to this part in Psalm 77, "water" took on a different meaning:
"When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
. . .
Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters, yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock..." (v. 16, 19-20).

Sometimes-- often-- God's way is through the sea of struggling and his path is through the great waters of hard things. Sometimes his footsteps are unseen, but he's still in control-- he's not subject to the great waters; they are afraid and tremble in his presence. So the rivers of uncertainty and doubt will not-- cannot-- overwhelm me. Because I am one of his precious sheep, and he will lead me to safety.