Rescued
My grandson loves coming to our house during the summer. I wish I could say it is because he loves to spend time with us, but I think it is more likely because we have a pool, and he loves to swim. From the moment he arrives, he is laser-focused on when he can get in the water. He is eight years old now, but he was just a toddler the first time we snapped him into a life jacket. It did not take long for him to gain confidence in his buoyancy, jumping off the side and trying to see how far down he could go before being forced to the top. He felt that with the jacket, he was unsinkable. He would try to dive for rings on the bottom and pop right back up to the surface unsuccessfully. Frustrating for him but a sense of peace for us, the jacket was doing what it was designed to do. One afternoon, he got out of the pool and took his vest off to go into the house. When he came back out, he ran and jumped in the water as he had been doing all day. This time, he did not pop up like before and began to panic. He had forgotten to put his jacket back on. He quickly learned that he had no ability to swim on his own, but it was the jacket that kept him safe and afloat in the deep water.
When I think about this story, I think about my own personal walk. I am ashamed to admit this, but I am guilty of sometimes going full tilt into my day, only to find that I am way over my head in a difficult situation. I am so thankful that my trust is not in the material things of this world but in Christ, who gave us victory over every situation in which we find ourselves. John 16:33 says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” In 1 John 5:4, we read, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.” My faith has grown by walking through those times and trusting in Him to see me through them.
Christ overcame the world that we could walk through our day to day knowing that He has already been tempted in every way, but did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Word gives us guidance, when we accept Christ and follow in His Word, we will have victory over sin.
My grandson tried and tested the jacket in every way he could. In doing so, he built a trust that it would always bring him to the surface. Without protection, he would have drowned. I pray that in the same way, he will learn to trust Jesus to bring him through difficult situations knowing that he cannot rely on his own ability. I pray that he will learn to use God’s Word to overcome sin and learn to walk by faith.
Psalm 18:16 (NIV) adds, “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.”