When it comes to walking with Jesus, sometimes things can get hard. Life get’s crazy, things happen, doubts spring up, questions arise, and fear can take over. These things can begin to make us start grabbing at our faith like a drowning person to a life-buoy.

Being a swift-water rescue lifeguard for a few years, I learned a few things about drowning people, and human behavior when the survival instinct kicks in…we flail and grab and try our best to stay floating…when the best thing to do is actually to try and relax, lay back, and float on your back.

Moreover, if you were to rescue an actively drowning person too soon – when they are still in reaction/reflex mode, you risk them pushing you under in order to get a breath of air…danger! Lifeguards are actually trained to stay far away from those who are energetically and actively drowning, for their own safety. Instead, they are trained to swim past, or near the person and throw a life buoy their way…still intentionally with them, but keeping them as safe as possible in the rescue process.

Often times in our lives, when we feel we are running out of air, options, hope, we begin to flail around…not realizing that God is right by our side, sending us the buoy of His word and presence to rescue us in our time of need…all we need to do is lay back and rest – allowing Him to surround us and bring us back in to the place of safety.

Be encouraged today…if you feel it’s all crumbling around you – take a moment to lay back and rest in His loving presence. The overflow of that rest will help to make the pieces of your life flow into place – and you’ll be all the better for it.

Shalom.