Riptide

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Romans 8:1

Riptide is defined as a strong current below the surface of a body of water which moves in a different direction than that of the surface current.  When one is caught in a riptide, the correct thing to do is not fight against it, just go with it staying parallel to shore until it releases you and you can swim in.  Good in theory, but oftentimes not what happens in a real life situation.  Human nature is to fight against it and struggle until you are worn out.

Our family just returned from a delightful beach trip to Florida.  It’s no secret that we all love the ocean, but I realized on this trip that each of us enjoys it differently.

I personally enjoy the calm, clear ocean water with the small rolling waves just right for a lazy float on a raft.  Randy enjoys a day with bigger waves to body surf into the shore.  The boys love those days when the ocean is rough enough to jump waves and they especially love it when they get knocked down.  No matter how many times, they were knocked down, they always got up to get back in the game.

Struggles in life can come when we least expect them just like a riptide.  They can carry us where we don’t want to go, pull us along where we don’t want to be, refuse to let us go, and wear us out.  The important thing is not how many times we get knocked down, how far we stray from what we know is right, how tired we are of fighting, but the fact that we don’t stay there.  We get back up and face those struggles. God never condemns us, but He expects us to get back up, dust ourselves off, and get back into the fight!

Calm seas are easy and don’t require much effort.  It’s the riptides that show how strong we are!