Through the Waters
I've got a little secret...that might be, well, a big secret. I've been waiting for nearly thirty-seven
years for the authorities to do something about it. So far, I've been very, very lucky. And no,
I'm not talking about the time I stole a personal pan pizza pan on a dare, Lord forgive me. I
confessed that youthful indiscretion-translation: sin-to my daughter recently and she was
aghast, as am I now telling it to you. What on earth was I thinking? Truthfully, I wasn't.
Back in the early '80's my friends and I were eating lunch at a local establishment, (even the
building is gone now), and I was carrying a big purse. "I love these little pans," I said... and, we
were off to the races. The gals with me were like, "You know, you're carrying a really big
purse, and ...." with a spreading of their hands, as if to say, "It's yours for the taking..." in it
went faster than you can say, personal pan pizza pan. That's what peer pressure will lead to,
y'all. Not cool. Just....mmm not cool. Since it was over 40 years ago, I'm assuming the statute
of limitations has run out. I promise I never did anything like that again.
Unless you count the fact that I cannot swim. The college I graduated from required everyone to
be able to swim. They considered it a necessary skill, and everyone was required to take a swim
test when they enrolled. If you didn't pass the test, you had to have completed the training by
the time you graduated. It was a required physical education credit. Because I transferred into
the college with PE credits, according to my transcript I had the necessary credits to graduate,
but one of them was NOT swimming. As I walked across the stage to receive my diploma, I had
this paralyzing fear that they would say, "Nope. No bachelor's degree for you, little missy. Not
only are you a thief, but you also do not know how to swim." So, I have a degree. IF it's valid.
That's my secret. I might not be a college graduate after all.
We just weren't around water much as children. My mom had a deathly fear of the water,
mostly because in her youth the prescribed training for the local swimming hole was to throw
someone in, yell, "Sink or swim!" and when it was her turn, my momma nearly drowned.
Daddy was able to swim very well; he'd learned on the river in his youth in Tennessee. On the
rare occasions he'd take us to the local river, he'd have my sister and me hang on his shoulders
while he backstroked across the divide. He worked two jobs, though, so outings at the riverbank
were exceedingly rare. And Mom would go white with worry every time he took us out. So, no
swimming lessons there.
Later, I dated a fellow who liked to go to the local pool in the summer (pools in the backyard
were much rarer then). We went together, and after his laughing fit over my inability to
navigate the water, he tried to teach me. Embarrassed, I begged him to leave me alone, and
practiced enough on my own to float, not panic, and possibly save myself in the event I fell off
the Titanic. It ain't pretty, but in a pinch, I miiiiiight be able to last 'til help arrives, or 'til Jack
swims up and tells me he's gonna write a strongly worded letter to the shipping line. We all
know there was room on that piece of wood that Rose was on. But then we wouldn't have the
necklace with the massive diamond to throw away at the end of the movie.
I'll never forget taking my children to a pool party with a church group. The mommas, all
exceptional swimmers, no doubt, were congregated pool side talking with each other, and I,
having inherited my mother's fear, kept my eagle eye on my son, Sam. He went down the slide,
landed in the water hard, resurfaced, and I caught a look in his eye that put me on high alert. He
went under again, and he came up sputtering and panicked. I eased out of my chair, walked
around the length of the pool to the side of where he was fighting the water, and when he came
up the third time, I reached down, grabbed his arms, and pulled him out of the water, sure that if
he went under again, he'd stay down. I can't believe how calm I was. He recovered quickly and
went right back in the water.
All three of my kids are pretty good swimmers! Even the least who received his swimming
badge in Boy Scouts. If it'd been up to Jeff or me to teach him, he'd have been out of luck!
You don't have to be a sea-faring person to know or dread rough waters. Can I give you a
different perspective? I was on a mission trip a few years ago in Boston, and one of our
excursions while there was to go whale watching. The waters were a little rough, the little boat
was open and felt quite insecure, but I braved it with the hope of seeing one of the majestic
beauties. It was amazing! I got to see a couple of the great wonders; the whales surfaced and
blew, and it was like seeing the hand of God. Incredible! And those were just your everyday
common whales. Can you imagine seeing a great Blue!?
It's no wonder, then, that for me, rough waters signal something great is coming. I love how
Scripture uses water in this way in the stories of the Exodus, of Jonah, and of Jesus on the Sea
of Galilee. What are some rough waters you are facing in your life or business? Are you looking
for the evidence that God is at work?
Mark, 4:35-41 tells of the disciples encounter with Jesus through rough waters (I'm reading
from the Amplified version):
On that [same] day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other
side [of the Sea of Galilee]." 36 So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was,
in the boat. And other boats were with Him. 37 And a [a]fierce windstorm began to blow, and
waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already being swamped. 38 But Jesus was in
the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor's leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said
to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?" 39 And He got up and [sternly]
rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still (muzzled)!" And the wind died down [as if
it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness]. 40 Jesus said
to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?" 41 They were
filled with great fear, and said to each other, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea
obey Him?"
I identify with the disciples and their fear. When chaos is breaking out around me, I have to
wonder... Who is in control? What can I do? Sometimes it's when I've followed Jesus; it was
His idea to take me to this point. "Let us go over to the other side," He said, and I followed.
Then the storm comes up, and I'm fully aware of my inability to swim! And like the disciples,
I'm asking, "Don't You care if I go down with this ship? Is this why You led me here? I'm not
just flailing... I'm failing. Do you want to see me fail?"
Have you noticed that when you get honest with God then He starts to speak into your
situation? The boat is about to roll, and the disciples are not putting on the fake religion thing;
they're not sweetness and light, interested in theology speak, or proper prayerful diction. "Don't
you care, Lord?" In Matthew's and Luke's accounts of the event, they are even more direct:
"Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
And look at the revelation that follows the storm... "Who is this that the wind and waves obey
Him?"
We see this pattern throughout Scripture. Drama, trauma, difficulties, storms of life erupt, and
Jesus reveals something more about Himself that draws us closer to Him and helps us know
Him better. We know him experientially in these moments. Not theory or theology or opinion,
but knowledge by revelation. It's an amazing experience, like seeing a whale out oo the ocean
when the waters are rough, and you're not sure the trip has been worth it.
A few years ago, after some bad financial decisions that I had made, I asked God to help me
with my finances. Jeff had been deployed and when he got home from overseas, he learned of
my foolishness and, as you might imagine, was very upset. I asked for his forgiveness, and
together we implemented a financial plan following Dave Ramsey. We'd only just gotten
started when we got an unexpected bill in the mail, one that wasn't part of the budget, one that
wasn't a result of my poor decisions, but had to be paid, and Jeff was angry, rightly so. It was
another blow even though the bill was not one that I had incurred.
I remember, in this 2nd financial storm (after the big one confessing to him my credit card debt),
I said, "I asked the Lord to help me, and I believe He is big enough to take care of this bill.
Let's give it a day or two and see what He will do." Jeff, reluctant and angry, agreed. The next
day, a dividend check arrived in the mail from our local energy cooperative...and it was to the
penny the exact amount we needed to cover the bill.
We learned in the storm that God honors our repentance and our obedience. I asked for Help,
and did what He told me to do, and He revealed Himself as our perfect provider. That year, we
paid off thousands of dollars in debt, far more than our income would suggest we could.
Providence moved on our behalf.
Now two decades later, God continues to reveal Himself as my Source...the source of income,
of clients/customers, of success. As I go through squalls, thunderstorms, or even hurricanes, I
hear Him ask, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" I recall that He's never
forsaken me.
The Psalmist described the rough waters like this (Psalm 77:16-20 NIV):
16 The waters saw you, God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Are you navigating rough waters? Your path may lead through the sea, through the mighty
waters. It doesn't matter if YOU can swim. What matters is that you know the One who
controls the winds and the waves. You can trust Him to be your Source, to see you floundering
in the water and walk over to you to pull you up and out. He will reveal Himself to be all you
need.
Father,
Thank you for forgiveness. For every dumb thing I ever did, for every time you've had to pull
me up and out, Lord, I thank You! And even though it seems counter-intuitive, Lord, I thank
you for the storms! In each one, those of my own making, or those that seem to be an inevitable
part of life, like death and disappointment and heartbreak, You are there, showing me new ways
to know You and to know how You work bringing your Kingdom to its promised fullness.
The Psalmist wrote that You gather the water of the sea into jars and the deep into storehouses.
You are Master of the Sea. Help me trust You more, know You more, and follow you into the
mighty waters knowing Peace is coming at Your command.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
One more Psalm... listen to this beautiful poem...
Psalm 104
1 Praise the LORD, my soul.
LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,[a]
flames of fire his servants.
5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.
24How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all...
Praise the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord.
