Flood Waters

There is a field I pass in my local travels that has small trees, many many small trees down below the line of the highway. And when it rains a lot, like we have had recently, the river rises up and floods this field. The trees are then underwater. Some taller than others, so some of them have more sticking up out of the water. Some have only a few inches barely above the flood water line. Others have a foot or more waving in the breeze while their lower leaves and branches are submerged. As I was driving past last week I thought how often I feel like those trees. Drowning. Sometimes the water is at my knees, sometimes my waste, and sometimes lapping right under my chin as I tip my head back to keep my face out of the water. Have you ever felt like your drowning? Drowning in a sea of financial mess and bills past due? Drowning in a fast rushing river of things to do and places to be when you just need rest? Drowning in your own feelings of failure or discontent? Drowning in the needs of others pulling and pulling at you and you give and give until you have nothing left? Maybe your feet are on solid ground… Praise God for that… but a lot of the time I don’t feel like mine are. And I know a lot of people are right there with me in that field, different levels of drowning, but still underwater all the same.

In those times we are drowning we cry out ‘God Save us!’ And when the water rises, or the water doesn’t recede, we wonder… ‘where is God? I prayed… I pleaded… can’t he see I’m drowning here?’ And we look to the sky with our heads tilted back and the water lapping at our chins thinking if he doesn’t come and pull us out soon, we will be completely under water. Hands reaching up for a rescue. Prayers reaching up for a rescue.

Do you know what I realized the other day as I passed that field? Do you know the vision that came to my mind? Jesus is under our feet, holding us up so that our heads are still above the water. He may not be reaching down from heaven to grab our hands and pull us out, but its because he is under the water, under our feet. He is taking the water into his lungs, he is taking the burden onto his back as he holds us up and out of the water. He is the solid rock upon which we stand. There will be flood waters. There will be trials. There will be heartache. For we live in a fallen world where the devil prowls looking to deceive, kill and destroy. But just like the footprints in the sand, he is holding us, he is carrying us, even if we don’t feel him, he is there. He will take the water into his lungs and die for his children. He will take the nails in his hands and feet and die for his children. He cannot save us from all suffering and all pain, but he has saved us from the worst of it. He has saved us from an eternity of pain and suffering. And in our suffering here on earth we become more like Jesus. We can be called Christians because we will suffer along with our Savior. He suffered while he walked on this earth. He knows all the feelings we have, all the temptations, all the pain, all the grief, and all the joy.
I know there will come a day when he lifts me up out of the flood water and sets my feel on solid ground. A day when there will be no water lapping at my knees or even my ankles. That day may not be until I stand with him in Heaven. But I will rejoice on that day! And I know that until then, he is lifting me up out of the water so that I do not drowned. He saves me everyday. Even on the days that I don’t see him, don’t feel him, don’t hear him… he’s there. Carrying me, lifting me, guiding me, protecting me, providing for me, loving me…. Every single day…..