I declare you will keep your grip. You might feel letting go is the easy way out. It’s not! Take a moment and picture in your mind you are holding onto a rope that begins to burn your hands. Bruises and burn marks are all over your hands, and you are in pain. The grip starts to feel much more intense and unbearable. Your hands get sweaty, and your strength starts to fade, so you let go. You let go because you don’t feel the pain was worth it. We let go because we can’t deal with the pain or sacrifices required to accomplish what we truly desire.
Life has a way of teaching us to try harder. Life has a way of teaching us to maintain our stance even when the voices in our heads become louder and louder, suggesting we quit. Don’t you quit! I learned that with God’s grace, I have already surpassed what wanted me to sink. I have already figured out the distractions and decoys designed to make me remain in a sunken place. My friend, you must figure out– with prayer and discernment–the one thing or perhaps several things in your path that are there to defeat you.
When I think about God’s grace, it reminds me of Paul’s story. Paul endured a storm, and it appeared as if two seas were tussling and opposing each other. The winds were blowing and the waves thrashing. It was a battle at sea. The ship broke because of the violence of the waves and the front of the ship was stuck in a reef. Everyone aboard the ship saw the shore ahead of them, but the question they pondered was “What do we do now?” Paul had to make a hard decision to survive. Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers… Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so, it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land. (Acts 27:31, 42-44)
Don’t allow life to throw you overboard. If it gets strong and tough, grab whatever you can find within reach to stay above water. Let us probe deeper into this story of Paul. In the 27th chapter of Acts, Luke shares how the apostle Paul and his shipmates endured a storm while on a journey to Rome. They were in the deepest of waters, and they were in the hands of God. What I love about God is He always has a plan in place to save us. His personality is fascinating…
Excerpt from “Grace in Deep Waters.”
Inviting you to grab your copy today!
