The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. ~ Deuteronomy 31:8
On a hot summer day several years ago I, my wife and our two boys went for a swim at the community pool.
I had been teaching my oldest son, Davey who was about four at the time, to tread water. This one time in particular I took him out to the five feet level. This was well over his head, but not over mine. He truly wanted to go deep in order to learn more about swimming and yet he was really scared.
At one point he started screaming as he clung to me like Gorilla glue. He was desperately afraid that I would let go of him and that he would sink to the bottom of the pool and drown.
After a struggle to pry the little monkey off my neck I was able to set him up on the concrete side of the pool wall. Only his feet were in the water as he sat there at eye level.
I looked into his eyes and then said in a gentle, but firm voice, “Davey, I love you and I promise I will not let you fall in the water. Do you understand? I promise, I will not let you go!”
There was a moment of quiet, and then something magical took place.
Davey slowly slid himself back into the deep waters and into my arms. He didn’t scream. He didn’t panic. He listened. He trusted.
Davey replaced his fear of the deep waters with an even deeper faith in the power and presence of his father.
I reflect on the drama of that day with Davey I can’t help but see a reflection of my own struggle. You know what I’m talking about. We somehow get into the deep end of the pool and know we are in way, way over our head.
And yet there God stands holding us in the water. He looks us in the eye and says, “I love you. I promised I will not let you go. I won’t let you drown. I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Today there may be an area in your life where you feel totally overwhelmed because of the deep waters you face.
Rest assured nothing is over God’s head. He is in control and is calling you to trust Him, to learn from Him and to keep leaning on him to not only keep you afloat but to help you grow to become all that He wants you to be!