We saw the other side, but feared getting
there.
My daughter and I were on a five-day hike
on the Foothills Trail of South Carolina when we encountered Horsepasture River.
We didn’t plan on turning back, but we feared what lay ahead: the very long
suspension bridge.
I knew thousands had crossed it before.
Surely, it was stable, though swingy. If it collapsed, I’d be in trouble. I
couldn’t swim without a fifty-pound pack, much less with one. And though my
daughter could swim, she would drown with thirty-five pounds on her back. And
she sure would not be able to save dear old Dad.
What we could see beyond the river didn’t
entice us either. Hundreds of steps ascending the next mountain—and across them
a large pine tree that had recently fallen. Not only would we have to walk a
swinging bridge, but we would also have to shinny over a tree larger than both of us put together.
Since I’m writing this, you know we made
it. We didn’t drown, nor did we fall from the tree down the side of the
mountain. The other side existed, and we made it there.
Jesus’ disciples knew the other side of
the lake existed. No doubt, they’d visited before. So when Jesus suggested they
cross over, they hopped aboard and headed for the next shore. Jesus napped, and
while He did a fierce storm arose. Fearing the storm would swamp the boat and
drown them, they woke Jesus. Although He calmed the storm, they still feared
they wouldn’t reach the other side.
Strange. If the Son of God who controls
nature—as they discovered—rode on board with them, and He had said they were
going to the other side, why did they ever doubt they’d make it?
Trials … life storms … have a way of
distorting our perception. They bring fear, doubt, worry, all of which can
cloud our vision and keep us from believing the other side even exists anymore.
When Jesus stilled the storm, the disciples’ perspective returned. Perhaps for
the first time, they truly believed nothing was beyond His control.
I’ve learned the same through storms, but
I tend to forget. So God keeps sending storms to remind me the other side
exists and that He will take me there—regardless of the nature of the trip.
No matter your storm, God will carry you
to the other side.
Prayer: Father, we thank You that You’ve
already been to the other side and have the fortitude to get us there too.
Tweetable: Are you confident in the other side?
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