Sitting By the Dock of the Bay

There is nothing quite like the early morning on a lake. All my life I have spent time each summer on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. I often wake up early - preferably at dawn - and go down to the dock and sit. Sometimes I take a canoe or rowboat into the middle of the bay and just sit and absorb the quiet. For me it is an elixir of peace that sinks deep into my soul. I am closest to the heart of God at such times.

The Book of Revelation pictures a sea of glass before the throne of God. (Revelation 4 & 15) The earlier passage pictures the denizens of heaven standing beside the sea, and the latter passage describes the people of God as standing on this sea of glass. For me this communicates "the peace that transcends understanding" (Philippians 4:7) that is ours in the presence of God.

On one occasion Jesus calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee from the stern of a boat. It says simply, "and all was calm." The disciples, amazed at Christ's ability to bring peace to a raging lake, asked one another "Who is this?" (Luke 8:25)

There is peace in the presence of God. It is peace like a lake at dawn, as still as glass. In both scenes in Revelation, everyone present around or on the sea spontaneously breaks into a song of praise. I do the same. How can I not? A song to my Creator and Redeemer spontaneously rises in my soul, and my voice echoes across the lake of glass. And in response to the song, the doors of the heavenly temple open wide. (Rev. 15:5)