Swim Don’t WADE - Martin Wiles

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. Matthew 14:29-30 NLT

My plans were in place, but circumstances beyond my control changed them.

I was in college, finally preparing for what God had called me to do: preach. However, I had always felt a part of that call was also to teach.

Twenty miles away was a university that worked with my college. If a graduate entered their master’s program, all their earned credits would transfer. Within one year, I could complete my graduate degree and be certified in elementary education. 

But a few months before graduation, my plans melted. I had recently quit my part-time job, and now my wife’s employer told her she was closing the business. By graduation night, we were both unemployed.

I was devastated. I could preach, but my chance of teaching—at least in the public sector--had vanished like a bad dream. Peter may have felt the same when he tried to walk on water. Wasn’t he one of the disciples who had left his business immediately when Jesus called him to follow? Hadn’t he palled around with Him and listened intently to His teachings? Wasn’t he the one who understood Jesus was the Messiah? Now, he wanted to test his faith. But he was disappointed. When Peter saw the waves’ angry arms grasping at his ankles, he sank like a stone.

Since I can’t swim, I will only wade. But some wading I don’t care for, and this tends to happen when disappointments wash over me. I Worry, even though God says worry is unnecessary because He’ll care for His children’s needs.

I’m also prone to drift toward Anxiety. God’s Word also reminds me I don’t have to be anxious. Instead, I can submit my prayers and concerns to God, and He’ll calm the waves.

When I wade, I can drift toward Depression. After all, depression is just around the corner when worry and anxiety are present.

But the worst-case scenario when I wade is that I’ll experience Emotional burnout. Rather than controlling my emotions, my emotions will control me. When moods fluctuate, trust in and service to God also do.

Don’t WADE. Trust God regardless of your circumstances.

Father, thank You that no waves are too high that Your love and sustaining power can’t help me overcome. 

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Getting into the Deep Waters - Martin Wiles

After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. Ezekiel 37:4-5 NLT

I fear getting into the deep waters and have every reason to.

When I was nine years old, someone in the church my dad pastored invited us to go swimming. Two of my friends asked me to hop on their innertube. I was okay while we wobbled around in the shallow end. Then they decided to go into the deep water. 

As the innertube moved toward the deep end, fear took over. I held tightly to the edge of the pool. Finally, the innertube left and my body stayed—but underwater. When it appeared the end was almost near, one of my friends suddenly propelled my body to the surface. I never learned to swim, and at my age, I don’t plan to.

God gave Ezekiel a vision of a river flowing from the Temple of God. As it cascaded downward, it got deeper. Lush vegetation lined the banks. The river symbolizes the life God gave but also the blessings flowing from his throne.

Walking or swimming in God’s river is my choice. When I trusted Christ as my Savior, I stepped into the river—the shallow part . . . the portion I could walk across without fearing. Then, as I grew in my faith, I moved into the deep waters. Waters I could drown in. Waters I had to rely on someone else to help me out of if I went under.

I can stay in the shallow waters during my entire Christian experience if I choose. But God wants me to venture out into the deep waters of serving and trusting him completely with every detail of my life.

My faith is tested, tried, and refined in the deep waters through severe trials, hindering hardships, and torturing temptations. Yet, along the banks of deep-water living are found the luscious foods that nurture my soul into a deeper spiritual relationship. Vegetation that increases my love for God and others. Vegetation that satisfies regardless of my situation in life.

How deep are the waters in which you are treading?

Prayer: Father, lead us into the deep waters of total commitment to You.  

Tweetable: Have you waded into the deep waters of trust? 

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Almost There - Anne Adams

Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. Galatians 6:9 NASB

Fog swirled around Catalina Island in the summer of 1952.

Florence Chadwick walked into the surf and began swimming toward the California coast two dozen miles away. Already an experienced long-distance swimmer, she had set a new record by crossing the English Channel the year before. So, accompanied by supporters in boats, she kept stroking on that July day. No doubt, the visible distant coastline of her goal helped her keep going.

Finally, after fifteen hours in the water—and as the fog thickened and obscured her view of the distant shoreline—Florence surrendered to fatigue and frustration. Once on the boat, she realized she was only a mile from her goal.

“I’m not excusing myself,” she said later, “but if I could see the land, I might have made it.”

Yet, a few months later, she was back in the water on a clear day to finish the course and set other new records.

Like Florence, I might sometimes cancel a goal and give up too soon. For me, it’s usually spiritual, such as when I halt my efforts on a God-given task. I might do it because I’ve lost my vision for the Lord’s ultimate purpose or because of fearful confusion. After all, we can’t always see our goal in God’s service as Florence Chadwick could with her endeavor. When I give up, I have usually succumbed to doubt.

But how futile. God can see where I’m going even when I can’t—and that’s enough. When it’s all over, I realize He was always there for my benefit and His glory.

How can you be reminded of God’s presence, even when the end is not in sight?

Tweetable: What do you do when you lose sight of the goal? 

Anne Adams is a retired church staffer living in Athens, Texas, where she writes a historical column for the local newspaper. Her book Brittany, Child of Joy, tells about her mentally disabled daughter and was published in 1986 by Broadman. She has taught junior college history and has published in Christian and secular publications for forty years. 

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Walk-on Wednesday - Water Walker - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” Matthew 14:28 NLT

I don’t walk on water, float on water, or swim in the water.

I grew up in a family of swimless people. But being able to float without any chance of going under would be enticing. I’ve never visited the Dead Sea, but if I did, I could walk out until I was waist-deep in water, lean back, and watch my feet and body pop up like a jack-in-the-box. This lowest place on earth is dominated by salinity that makes floating a breeze.

Peter wanted to walk, not float. He and the disciples were fighting a storm on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus came walking toward them on the water. Impetuous and prideful Peter asked if he could come to Jesus on the water. Jesus permitted him. Strutting like the sole cock in the chicken yard, Peter did well until he felt the violent wind blowing through his hair and noticed the struggling waves at his feet. As he spiraled downward, Jesus rescued him.

Peter was a seasoned fisherman and knew how to swim, but in this case, ability failed him. Pride outweighed his skill and sent him reeling toward the sea’s bottom. Pride does this. When I think I’m walking tall, pride will take me down. So popular has Peter’s story become through time that “walking on water” is now used as a synonym phrase for pride.

God is the one who holds me up day by day. He may give me strength, wisdom, and other natural abilities, but his hand is responsible for my floating and not sinking. He should receive the credit and glory for any and everything I accomplish.

While God won’t prevent all the storms in our lives—self-inflicted or not—he will keep us from succumbing to the warrior waves they bring. And when we cry out to him as Peter did, he will even grow our faith through them.

Are you guilty of thinking you can walk on water? If so, rebuke pride and invite humility into your life.

Prayer: God of glory and grace, remove any pride from our lives so that we might serve You in humility and power. 

Tweetable: Are you trying to walk on water? 

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When Life Changes in a Second - Martin Wiles

Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10 NLT

He was there … and then he wasn’t.

My son and daughter-in-law threw a birthday for our youngest grandson and his step-brother. The same kind they’d thrown for the past two years. The same kind we hadn’t attended. A pool party.

This year differed. Our son had just ended a one-year silence with us. We had made amends and wanted to keep it that way. So we went. I watched the children carefully—as if I could have done anything had one of them fallen in.

Supper came in the form of pizza. People finished at different times while kids continued running around the pool. Several returned to the pool, including my son who held my youngest grandson.

My middle grandson thought he didn’t need holding. It took him only a second to step off the step he sat upon. My daughter and I saw him at the same time. He bobbled, gasping for air. She hollered, “Get Colton,” and my son grabbed him. He coughed a few times, but, fortunately, was okay.

Not all situations turn out so well. Children, and adults, drown every year. Natural disaster destroys property and lives. Criminal acts steal lives and possessions. Financial meltdowns melt down families and friends. Partners steal. Diseases alter the course of our lives. Life can change … in a second.

It did with Moses. Abandoned by his mother because of a cruel king’s edict, Moses was placed in a basket and set upon the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the little baby, adopted him, and raised him in the splendor of Egypt. Everything went well for Moses, until, as an adult, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his kin people—who. by the way, were slaves in Egypt. Moses became angry and killed the Egyptian. Pharaoh swore he’d kill him, and Moses ran for his life to the backside of a desert where he married and became a shepherd. Until his life changed when God called him to lead God’s people out of slavery.

Regardless of how or when life changes, God never does. He continues to love and protect us—from or through the pain and change. He led Moses, he led my son, and he’ll lead everyone who asks. His presence comforts, and His wisdom guides. He can do what no one else can.

When your life changes, trust the One who never does.

Prayer: Father, we trust You to guide us through the changes of life.

Tweetable: How do you handle life's changes?

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Refined Through the Fire - Martin Wiles

Series: The Truth about Trials

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 NLT

Joni Eareckson Tada, paralyzed from the neck down from a swimming accident, said, “Take those road hazards—the potholes, ruts, detours, and all the rest—as evidence that you’re on the right route. It’s when you find yourself on that big, broad, easy road that you ought to worry.”

In the movie, San Andreas, a large earthquake pummeled residents of the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles, California, areas, leaving death and destruction in its path. Just when they thought the quake was over, a researcher predicted a larger one was on the way. Buildings collapsed, roads and bridges disappeared, and thousands died. But one husband and wife, who were on the verge of divorce, recovered their marriage and saved their family.

Although James says to take trials as an opportunity for great joy, doing so isn’t easy. First-century believers certainly had their share of trials when persecution broke out against them. Many died. In one form or another, persecution has continued over the centuries. But trials of various sorts didn’t begin in the first century. They began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, letting sin into their lives and into the world.

No one enjoys trials, but they do have a way of challenging our faith (1 Peter 1:7). Joni Eareckson Tada discovered that. So have I. When I’ve looked to God during the trials—rather than to others or to a path of bitterness and disobedience—He has drawn me closer to Him. I’ve learned dependence—not co-dependence. I’ve discovered He’s all I need and that His power is sufficient to take me through any and every difficulty. My faith has grown more during the tough times.

Trials also always end in deliverance (Psalm 34:19). Some may appear to go on and on—and some may haunt us until our death—but God will deliver, through life or in death. Either way, deliverance comes. God determines the intensity and the time limit. Whether He brings it or allows it is immaterial. He is in control either way. And He controls with love and with our best interests at heart.

Let God challenge your faith through life’s trials. He will deliver … and accomplish wonderful things in your life along the way.

Prayer: Father, challenge us through the trials. Grow our faith so that we may be formed more into Your likeness.

Tweetable: Are you letting trials refine your faith? 

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