Tumultous Journey
Years ago I joined a church group on a rafting trip down a river in north Georgia. I found the experience both exciting and scary.
My greatest and most exciting achievement that day involved being the only rafter who stayed aboard the entire trip. Whether it was because I was a Methodist and all the others were Baptist, only God knows. Nonetheless, extremely cold water was a good deterrent for skinny me.
Ironically our guide received the distinguished award for being the first to fall overboard. My first thought: we need our leader back in the boat and quickly. The thought of going down the rapids without a leader unnerved me and made the beginning of the journey a bit scary. Luckily we pulled him back into the raft and continued downstream.
Downstream involved some placid areas where you could relax and enjoy the scenery. Downstream also involved some frightening rapids and large boulders where visions of sugar plums were not dancing in my head.
Life reflects these same scenarios, does it not? Sometimes our travel through this life is relaxing, while other times our travel is extremely stressful and scary.
As a small child, I visited my aunt and uncle, who lived on a lake. They had a canoe. As a child I was fascinated with this boat that was long and narrow. I decided I would step on and into this long and narrow boat. Have you ever stepped into a canoe? It’s not as easy as some make it look. The next thing I knew, I was in the water. I looked up and saw water and the sky. I knew I was a “goner.” The next minute my uncle was picking me up.
Amazingly, if I had stood up, I would have been fine. The water wasn’t deep at all, but little young “me” didn’t know this.
Life can be this way. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed as if we are drowning. People and circumstances seem to overwhelm us. Then, God comes along and picks us up. When we look back, the people and the circumstances were not quite as dire as we once thought.
When you are in over your head, turn to God. He will pick you up. His goal is always to help those who call upon His name. He is there for us in the exciting times and He is there for us in the scary times.
Begin today turning your faith toward God and God’s word. Allow God to give you periods of rest and restoration in this tumultuous world in which we live. A good place to hear this is Psalm 23. Read it today.