There are times when we can describe the path of our life as “smooth sailing,” where our boat just floats along congenially, carried easily by gentle breezes. Our life settles into a nice, manageable routine, our needs are being met, everything just seems to fall into place, and we feel in control, happy, and able to handle our day-in-and-day-out patterns. The sailboat still rises up and down with the waves, and minor adjustments must be made to the sails or the rudder to keep the desired direction, but all in all the way is smooth.
Joyce Meyer, the international inspirational speaker, was in Africa recently and she described her experience of riding in a boat down the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe
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| Victoria Falls, Zambezi River, Zimbabwe, Africa |
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, Your right hand will hold me fast. ~ Psalm 139:7-10
Absolutely true. Very true. Right up until the best plan for our life, for us to grow to be our strongest selves, sometimes is to walk THROUGH the actual catastrophe itself rather than be saved from it. To sail into the very midst of the raging storm, for our dinghy to be tossed to and fro by powerful waves and blustering winds, for us to have to grip the rails for our very lives while our little boat does go flying right over the edge of the waterfall…..
Did God miss something in those times? Was He distracted, too busy, asleep? No way!
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Indeed, He who watches over Israel
But this January when I fell down the stairs at my home, broke my collarbone and had emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot from my fractured skull – why did God not protect me from that? Then only two months after being in the hospital ICU, a second wave crashed across my life path when I lost my job at the church where I had worked faithfully for six years, cutting our income in half – why would God allow that? My little raft truly had cascaded all the way over the waterfall! And yet…..Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and breakers have swept over me……Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. ~ Psalm 42:7, 11
Waters flowed over my head;
I said, ‘I am cut off!’
I called on Your name, O Lord,
Out of the lowest pit.
You have heard my voice,
‘Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief, from my cry for help.’ You said, ‘Do not fear!’
O LORD, You took up my case;
You redeemed my life.
~ Lamentations 3:54-58
You see, God doesn’t guarantee that everything will always be perfect, smooth, easy, and the way we would want. Just like as parents we don’t always say “yes” to our children’s requests, or jump in and fix every problem for them – we see that they sometimes need to learn lessons that will make them stronger.
And in life when “the rug gets pulled out from under us,” or “life throws us a curve ball” sometimes that is the VERY PLACE where we can pick up the pieces and start a fresh adventure, or even just sweep the broken shards away, step out and try something completely new! We can look forward and see our disaster as an opportunity rather than a setback, a wide-open field of possibilities rather than a pit of despair.
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| Photo copyright zunazet at http://zunazet.caedes.net/ |
Recently I read an inspiring article called, Finding Joy in the Jolts of Life, by Phil Cooke. Actually, that is the subtitle. The title is even more explicit: Hitting the Wall. In the story the author talks of his experience of getting fired from his job at age 36 with a wife and two small children, and described that point in his life as “hitting a wall.” And yet, he goes on to reveal this – “But looking back today, I can see the jolt of that experience was the best thing that could have ever happened. Shortly afterward, we began the greatest journey of change we had ever experienced.”
So, regarding my own recent life “jolts,” for almost four months I have been seeking, searching, thinking, praying, waiting, asking about what to do with my life now. Is this a turning point of opportunity for me? Is there something wonderful, something totally different that I am supposed to do now? What I can say is that I have dared to take tentative steps in a brand new direction, but the answer is not completely there yet. And you may be in the very same boat in your life right now.
So far, the current lesson for me in this whole experience has been FAITH. As Joyce Meyer also says, “Faith is in the Not-Knowing.” Faith is trusting God even when it doesn’t make sense, when we don’t know how in the world our situation can possibly work out. Faith is trusting that God has a plan even if you have lost your job. Faith is trusting that God will provide even when the numbers don’t add up to pay all the bills. Faith is trusting that God will open a door at just the perfect moment and you will enter a whole new world of blessing and adventure.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
~ Hebrews 11:1
I’m there. I can feel it. And if your boat also has plummeted down the waterfall, or you are having a struggle paddling upstream against a mighty current, or you feel you are riding the rapids in your life right now, God will be with you as well. He promises. Blessings are right around the bend. But in the meantime, remember – faith is before you get to see what is around the bend. Faith is in the not-knowing.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield. The LORD gives grace and glory. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Oh LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!
~ Psalm 84:11-12
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