I’m Throwing You a Lifeline – Grab Hold of It!
A couple of years ago, while in Cabo San Lucas, my oldest and youngest grandsons headed out on stand-up paddle boards. That is a feat in itself — to get yourself upright on the boards. I’m doing good to get in an upright position from the ground — never mind, on water! (Gasp!) They paddled leisurely as the waters were like glass. No concern. No life vests needed. They planned on staying close to shore. But, what started out to be a joy ride, turned into massive concern for their lives when a rip current formed and the waters started rolling out, and so did the boys — further and further from shore. Both guys became genuinely concerned when their paddling strength was gone. They were both praying. Braden was about to get Bryson to move over to his paddle board because it would be better than getting separated when all of a sudden, the waters smoothed out and they safely paddled themselves back into shore. Big Braden admitted to how concerned he was for their lives.
The recollection of this story made me think about all of us right now – still in the throes of so many changes to our lives because of the pandemic. In the first couple of months of this year we might have been enjoying calm waters when suddenly a rip current formed (the pandemic) that changed just about everything in our world. We may have started out with the greatest intentions of using this down time as an occasion to press into God more than we have ever before. After all, we were isolated and what a perfect time to isolate with Him! But, before long, we drifted away from focusing on Him and we found ourselves getting further and further away from Him.
I started out good but along the way, I found myself becoming lackadaisical with pressing in. I had my few minutes of daily devotion and prayer time, but then I would be on to other things. I didn’t mind on-line church, In fact, I enjoyed staying in my jammies! But, before long, I knew I needed to be back in fellowship with other believers and even more my personal prayer and praise time with God.
It is so important to get back to shore – to get plugged back in to our lifeline — to God and His Word. I understand if it’s for medical reasons you haven’t ventured out yet but at least be watching Christian broadcasting, watching your social media threads for Bible studies and praise music. The truth is Jesus saves, but we need His Word to save our minds, our hearts, and our spirits. If you don’t think you’re ready yet to meet with people, then meet with God through His Word. It will save Your mind. It’s alive and sharper than any two-edged sword. You can even go online, and you’ll find a scripture for everything you’re facing and you can even go to YouTube and find videos where you’ll even be read to. Here is Psalm 23 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LebL9JIF6cw
Go ahead. Be intentional with your relationship with God and His Word. Grab hold of His lifeline. I promise you – you’ll find yourself encouraged, more joy-filled, more peace-filled and infused with the power you need to carry on strong. Online church is still available, so do yourself a favor and build up your faith and strength by getting back to shore — getting back to God and His Word.