Thoughts Midstream
Thoughts Midstream
When I was little and went horseback riding with my sisters, I had a hard time keeping up. My problem was that I was riding a little pony only half the size of their mounts. I had to gallop twice as fast just to keep up.
I didn’t mind. I took it as a challenge—until we came to the edge of a river. My sisters on their big horses thought it was fun and exciting to cross the river at the deepest part. They never seemed to notice that my little pony sank quite a bit deeper into the swirling waters. It was scary, but I wasn’t about to let them know.
One crossing in particular sticks in my memory: the Gorsuch Switch Crossing on the Patapsco River. It had rained earlier that week and the river was brown and swollen. As our horses waded out toward midstream, I became transfixed staring at the swirling waters rushing around the legs of my pony. It made me scared and dizzy. I began to lose my balance in the saddle.
The voice of my sister Jay finally broke through my panic.
“Look up, Joni! Keep looking up!”
Sure enough, as soon as I focused on my sister on the other side, I was able to regain my balance and finish the crossing.
That little story came to mind recently when I was reading about Peter in Matthew 14. It seems he had a similar problem as he walked on the water toward the Lord Jesus. He looked down at the raging waters, got dizzy, and lost his balance. Because he took his eyes off the Lord and put them on the swirling waves around him, he began to sink.
How much we are like him! Instead of resting on the Word of God, we let our circumstances almost transfix us, absorbing us to the point where we begin to lose our spiritual equilibrium. We become dizzy with fear and anxiety. And before you know it, we’ve lost all balance.
Am I describing you today? Feeling the bite of anxiety? Can’t find a babysitter to cover you while you go to that important medical appointment? Can’t seem to adjust to life without wheels while your car is getting a new transmission? Are the books just not balancing this month? Maybe your teenager brought over some new friends to the house yesterday—if you could call them friends.
It’s easy to panic, isn’t it? And admittedly, it’s hard to look up—especially when you feel like you’re sinking.
But my pony and I made it across the Patapsco and Peter made it back to his boat. Thousands before you, enduring the gale force winds of circumstance, have made it through, keeping their eyes on the Lord Jesus. How about you?
If you can’t find a way out, try looking up!