“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle you.”
Floods have been used as a metaphor for the things in life that seem to carry us away on their currents. I remember the flood that we experienced in our area in 1994. I learned a lot about floods during that time. They do not just overrun you with water, but they bring a stinking mess with them and smell up the whole area. Life’s floods are like that too. They do not just overrun us; they stink up our lives as well. One thing is certain: we will all face “floods” of one kind or another. In these “floods” we learn to recognize the real danger and horror of sin, which makes us know that we need God to help us face, live through, and overcome these floods. The floods that we face should make us aware of our proneness to sin. Imagine that you are being overcome by flood waters. Imagine the helpless feeling that you would have if flood waters were flowing over you and carrying you away. This is similar to what sin often does in our lives. We feel helpless in the face of the temptations that seek to lead us astray. We say that we just can’t help it, the temptation was too much and we were in a weak moment. We need to learn to look at those temptations to sin like we would look at the water that was carrying us away. We need to be horrified about the direction that it would take us in life. Too often, people look back after the flood of dissipation has carried them away and say, “What was I thinking?” Think of sin as a river that will drown you if you let it have its way. The floods of life should make us more dependent on God. The only way out of the flood of sin is through Jesus Christ. In Romans 7 Paul told of his own experiences with sin. He was forlorn that, left to his own devices, he was helpless to overcome sin, to not do the things that he should not do and to do the things that he should do. How did he deal with this flood of sin? His solution is in verses 24-25: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25. I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." In Romans 8:1 Paul shared with us the result of turning to Jesus: “There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Surviving life’s floods is not a “do it yourself project.” We need Jesus to help us not just stay afloat in the flood, but to deliver us from the flood. In Psalm 23:2b David gave us the answer to overcoming life’s floods: “He leads me beside still waters.” When the flood of dissipation seems to be overcoming us, we need to reach out to God and He will lead us away from the flood waters to still waters. If we are willing to learn, the floods of life can teach us about the love of God for us. He loves us enough to take our hands and lead us "beside still waters." He is powerful enough to stanch the flow of the river of sin and help us to stay spiritually alive. Too often, we underestimate the love and power of God. Jesus is not just a resource for us; He is the answer for us. Peter found this out when he was walking on the water to go to Jesus. He turned his eyes to the wind and waves and began to sink. He cried out for the Lord to save him, and the Lord reached down and lifted Peter out of the water. Jesus will do the same for us. Because of Jesus we are not powerless as we face the floods of life. Rejoice! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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