Caught up in the current?

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. (James 1:12)

Woodrow Wilson reminded us, "The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it." It is often when we are caught smack dab in the middle of the current of life's drama that we first recognize the 'forcefulness' of where we are being 'directed'. We don't realize we are being 'sucked in' until we are squarely caught up in the mess life is handing out at that moment. Once we are caught in the current of the drama, it is much harder to get free of it than it is to prepare for the 'current' ahead of time. 

We all know life comes at us at speeds in excess of our perceived ability to 'keep up with them'. We feel overwhelmed at times - life is challenging on most good days - ramp up the challenges and it is easy to get caught up in the current and 'carried away' by the difficulty. Most boaters will acknowledge there is a need to understand both the depths of the waters you launch into AND the way the currents of that water flow, come together, and diverge again. Currents are like that - they aren't always going in one direction - they sort of 'come together' at some point, creating a type of 'whirling' action that can set us in a totally different direction.

A good boater will study the waterways before launching into them. The depths and hidden outcropping of rock, sandbar, and waterway hazards are studied. The currents are mapped out and the path to take is planned. There is a lesson for us in their intense preparation - life's currents are less likely to get us 'caught up' and 'spun around' if we prepare for them, too! We will meet challenges - we don't have to be caught up in the drama they produce. The drama is part of the challenge, but we don't have to succumb to it when we have prepared ourselves to recognize it for what it is - a distraction meant to get us into the center of the current.

Believe it or not, many families have these 'currents', but they seldom recognize just how easily these currents can 'spin them around', heading them down a path that is marked with multiple hazards and further challenges we aren't prepared to meet head on. Maybe the best we can do is ask God to teach us the 'currents' of our family dynamics. Many work teams are caught up in all manner of 'relationship issues' that manifest in not having common goals, seeking to one-up each other, and undermining the work being done. The currents are there, but we don't have to be caught up in them. 

I guess the hardest thing we can do is this prep work - so we are ready to face the challenges head on. The easiest thing we can do is to allow God to guide us through those 'navigable' spots, so we avoid those currents in the first place! Just sayin!

Current strong?

It was the late Woodrow Wilson who said, "The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it." I imagine there are more than a few individuals in my circle of influence today who feel like they are swimming against the current - toughing it out and trying to battle to the other side. A long time ago, I learned if you'd 'tie off' on one side of the river to a sturdy tree or large rock, you could use the momentum of the river's current to carry you across to the other side, all while still tethered to the anchor on the side you were abandoning. That tether could serve as the guide to help others get across, because you would solidly secure it to the opposite side of the strong current's flow on the other riverbank. The next behind you could then 'tether on' and be guided safely across. Many times we are the ones taking the first risk to cross those troublesome currents of life, but as long as our anchor is secure, we can prepare the way for others!

Disaster strikes like a cyclone and the wicked are whirled away. But the good man has a strong anchor. (Proverbs 10:25 MSG)

The strength of the current doesn't have to be our worry when we have solid anchor. The current can toss us to and fro a bit, but as long as the anchor is firm, we are going to weather the tossing. The current serves the purpose of pushing us to our limits and then it requires we allow God to show us where our limits end and his take over! The moment we try to navigate the current without that anchor, the current is free to exercise a great deal more 'liberty' with where it takes us, what we brush up against, and how frequently we 'go under'. The current doesn't change - the anchor just changes the 'influence' of the current upon us.

We all have varying degrees of 'strong anchors' we have trusted in over the course of our lifetime, some of which have proven to be unstable in the face of the strength of the current itself. The current exerted enough pressure against the ANCHOR that the 'hold' was broken. The captain of a large sailing vessel wouldn't expect a 12 inch rock tied to a length of rope to even begin to 'hold steady' the vessel against the current's strength. The size of the anchor is equally as important as the strength of the current against which it must give anchorage! We sometimes trust in 'anchors' that are less than trustworthy - like money or talent. While both are capable of giving us 'security' for a while, they can both be very untrustworthy anchors.

There is but one solid anchor to which we must 'tie on' as we face the currents of life. That anchor isn't crafted out of anything material or even taken from nature. It is Christ and Christ alone. There is not stronger or more secure anchor than the cross! Just sayin!