Riptide

Getting caught in a riptide or rip current is frightening. The more you fight, the further you are drug from safety. The best move is to let go and to float until you are released from the rip’s grip. Then you can swim sideways until you reach the shore.

One day at the beach, when I was very young, I got caught in a bad rip current. I panicked. I think I screamed for help. I believed I was going to die. As I was getting pulled under again, an arm reached down into the water and pulled me out. It was my dad. He probably saved my life.

Psalm 18:16-19

He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

Always remember God’s love. He will rescue you from the rip currents, just like my dad rescued me, because he delights in you.

Unlimited

I am limited. God is unlimited. He shares his power with us through the Holy Spirit.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul celebrated his role as teacher and the church as a conduit for the Word of God.

In Ephesians 3:16-19, Paul wrote:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul explains that Jesus dwells in our hearts because of our faith in him. Then, God fills in our limits with the love of Christ.

Instead of confronting our challenges and limitations on our own, think of what could happen if we deliberately relied on God’s unlimited power delivered through the Holy Spirit?

Challenge

James 1:2-4 states:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Trials of various kinds come from various sources, and I believe, have various purposes. Hopefully, these trials teach us who we are in God.

When faced with adversity we have two choices: go it alone, or go with God. If we go it alone we may miss the point of the trial completely (which is to go with God.)

All of our power comes from God. He has loaned it to us to use at our discretion. We get to decide whether we collaborate with The Creator of the Universe, or go our own way.

If we go with God then the testing of our faith as described by James will lead to steadfastness, and ultimately, to our own perfection in God. If we go our own way, well, who knows where that may lead?

I was going to write about how God uses people to challenge us. He does. But that’s less joyful than this.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not only about releasing others for what they have done to us. It’s also about accepting others for who they are to us.

In Matthew 6:14-15, directly following The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus warns,

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

We forgive others; God forgives us. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change how we feel about those who trespass against us. We hate them. And, so long as we hold on to hatred, we are trapped.

I am blessed with enthusiasm. At the core of my enthusiasm is an appreciation for the people God places in my life. Yes, sometimes they trespass against me, and sometimes I return the favor.

However, I have learned to accept others for who they are to me: namely, God’s agents in my life. I don’t always like or appreciate the role they play, but I trust that their presence is part of God’s plan, even in the most painful circumstances.

God is shaping and molding us daily into the people he created us to be. Forgiving others softens the clay.

Wisdom

God is the source of wisdom. Job 28:28 explains, “And he [God] said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Job understood. Even when attacked by Satan; even when his “friends” gave him questionable advice; even when his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” Job understood that God is the source of wisdom.

We all have “life experience.” Sometimes (maybe most of the time) we do not learn from our mistakes, because we make them over and over and over again. We cry out to God to save us from ourselves. Mistakes are not the source of wisdom.

We all endeavor to improve the quality of our lives. Often we take action without fear of the Lord, without prayer, without asking God for direction. We head out on our own, not really understanding our circumstances. Action is not the source of wisdom.

Job openly laments his circumstances and demands a response from God. God answers him out of a whirlwind! God says, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” Job covers his mouth. God is the source of wisdom.