One of the things I love to do in my spare time is kayak. The city I live in is blessed with many waterways and lakes which makes this an easily accessible, and very enjoyable pastime.
Often when I’m out in the middle of the lake, I like to stop and drift for a while. It is so beautiful and peaceful on the water and it is a lovely place to pause and reflect. When I’m doing this, I like to watch the droplets of water fall from the edge of my paddle blade and down into the water, creating an outward circle of ripples.
At other times when I’m drifting, another paddler, or a power boat will go past some distance away and after a minute or so my kayak will start rocking with the waves created by the other boat.
While these are both ripple effects, they couldn’t be more different.
From one the effect is relatively minor, whereas the other has the potential to cause an unwanted outcome of me being rocked out of my kayak with the other person blissfully unaware of the disruption to my peacefulness they have caused.
How true is this in life?
We create ripple effects every time we say or do something. Whether we are aware of it or not, our words and actions create an impact that will continue and could be positive, relatively harmless or could cause great harm.
The ripple effect of our past has the potential to go either way…. A gentle ripple that turns into something beautiful; or a harsh wave of ugliness and destruction that upturns everything in its path.
For me, the potential for ugliness was very real for many years. I was insecure. I was bitter. I was confused. I was angry. I had become a victim of my circumstance and I was turning into the type of person I was desperately trying to avoid.
But then. God.
God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy picked me up and turned me upside down. With the help of His refining fire I started to become the person He had created me to be. My ripple effect became soft and gentle and my mess became my message.
I had resisted the call of God on my life for more years than I am happy to admit. I was afraid. I feared what people would think. But then I realised, this is not about what others think. This is about that one step, the one drop that creates the ripple. This is about being obedient to the call of God. This is about people being set free through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We have all seen in recent weeks just how quickly something can spread. Whatever you are giving off, good or bad, is infectious to those around you. The definition of a ripple effect according to a Google search is “the continuing and spreading results of an event or action.” We all have the ability to create a ripple effect with our lives and our stories.
What is God asking you to do to create a ripple effect for His glory that will continue to spread, ever outward, for days, months or even years to come?
