Unless the Lord had helped me I would have soon settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” – Psalm 94:17-19
I have found this Psalm to be true this last weekend. I was in a dangerous place and for a moment was very fearful for my life; but when I cried out to the Lord He delivered me from harms way.
This last weekend some of us racers decided to go to the beach. As soon as we found our campsite some of us headed straight for the water. Having grown up only visiting the Oregon coast ocean I was so pleasantly surprised to find that the water was warm! And the tide and waves were crazy big and fun right at the shoreline. As more people joined us in the water some of us went deeper out. Soon it was just me and one of my sqaud-mates, Lauren, who continued out deeper. We had little idea of the danger we were in.
Eventually we decided to head back to shore. I was surprised to see how far from shore we were. We started to swim towards shore but quickly realized we weren’t making any ground. We tried to get momentum from oncoming waves but would ultimately get sucked back behind it. At this point we could see our whole group gathered on shore waving us in. How are we going to get to shore I thought.
We became more tired and the waves became more furious. Lauren told me that she was actually getting scared now. I told her to stay calm and try to use as little energy as possible. It was hard for me to give this advice because I was getting really scared too. Whenever a wave came we tried to keep our heads above water but now because of exhaustion I was pushed under water each breaking wave and struggled to reach the surface. I started to cry out as loud as I could: “Heeeeelp!!!!”
Am I going to die here I thought. I thought of how there’s never been a death on the Race but this could be the first. I was really worried for Lauren as well. What could I do if she started to drown? I wouldn’t be able to rescue her; I’m much too small and I’m struggling too.
Should we pray Lauren asked. Definitely I thought. How could I not have thought of this before. So I started to pray out loud: “Thank you Jesus for keeping us safe and protected. Thank you for giving us new energy in our limbs to endure through this. Thank you for keeping the waves from hindering us but letting them help us to shore. Thank you for sending us help. Thank you that you are going to keep us safe.” Thus I prayed in faith, trusting that God would do as I said. And honestly, as I said it a new peace and hope washed over me. I wasn’t 100% sure that we would be okay but I was sure that God was with us and watching over us.
Immediately after I finished praying I realized that we were closer to shore. Over the wave in front of us came Ralph (the owner of our campsite) on a surfboard. Relief flooded my soul. Thank you Jesus. He directed us to the right at a 45 degree angle with the shore. Very soon we both made it back to shore safe and sound in the joyous arms of our squad-mates.
The rest of the weekend at the beach was super relaxing, beautiful, and altogether lovely. But I took a lot from that first experience in the ocean. For one, it was embarrassing. Embarrassing to have not known about riptides or how to get out of one (swim parallel to shore until out of the current). Second, it was frightening. Frightening to have been in such a dangerous place. Death itself isn’t scary to me (I know where I’m going), but I want to learn to live in such a way that I’m ready to die; I should do all things as if doing them for the Lord. Third, God is so amazing! Through it all God was with Lauren and I. And as soon as we remembered that and cried out to him with faith that He would lift us up, He did so. His response was immediate! “As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.” – Psalm 138:3
God truly is amazing! The Lord will deliver you when you cry out to Him. He is our good shepherd; our loving Father; our almighty Lord; our passionate Savior. God will protect you for He loves you. Read through Psalm 103 and you will see just how much He does. But He will not save you if you don’t ask to be saved. Cry out to the Lord and He will hear you. He will be sure to deliver you as long as you cry out to Him in faith. Don’t consider yourself unworthy of authoritatively requesting something from God; you are a son or daughter of the King. Jesus himself told his followers: “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe you have received it, it will be yours.” – Mark 11:24
God uses all things for His glory and my good. God’s glory was displayed in this experience. He reached down and saved Lauren and I as immediately as we cried out to Him. Hallelujah; He is worthy of unending praise! It was also used for my good; it showed me very tangibly how close God truly is and how much He cares for me. It reminded me “Even when I walk through the darkest valley I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and staff protect and comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4
I have been reading through Exodus and I am always surprised at how quickly the Israelites forget the Lord’s past provisions and complain and grumble to Moses when things get hard. But I also realize that I am prone to the same habit as the Israelites. God has done some amazing things in my life but when things get hard I am quick to forget God’s past faithfulness and wonder if He will provide again. I worry and test the Lord, asking for more miracles and signs to confirm His favor with me.
God has been telling me to remember and trust. Remember past miracles in my life. Remember how the Lord has shown up. So when the road is rough I shouldn’t grumble or complain or test the Lord. I just need to trust Him for He is always faithful. He is always with me and He is always watching out for me. He is orchestrating all things for His glory and my good. I don’t need to be afraid.
“Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD? Who can ever praise him enough?” Psalm 106:1-2
We all saw this sign after the incident.
