Hill: Just keep swimming

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

In 1952, as Florence Chadwick was swimming between Catalina and the California coast with small boats flanking each side to protect against sharks and to assist her if she grew tired, a dense fog descended and obscured her vision.

Speaking the Truth in Love
by Pastor Tommy Hill

Exhausted after 15 hours and the shoreline out of sight she decided to quit just one mile from shore. Many times, we cannot see what God has promised because “circumstances” obscure our goal. We must keep pressing onward regardless of what we can or cannot see. When there is fog, He’s there . . . just keep swimming. Later she tried again and this time, even though the fog was just as bad, she kept swimming because she knew the shore was there regardless of what she could not see or how she felt.

We can’t see Heaven yet, but we know it’s there. Many things hinder us from keeping our eyes on the finish line, but remember this, “it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.”

What do we do when we cannot see the way ahead? Here are a few suggestions of how we, as Christians, may put our complete confidence in our Lord.

1. Remember He is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our Faith. Heb. 12:1-2 teaches us that God is the Writer of our faith. He leads us to green pastures and beside still waters. He restores our soul when life is obscured by the fog and trials of this world that seemingly roll in without warning (Ps. 23). May we allow God to continue writing each day of our lives and trust Him in everything.
   1. We must trust God as He continues to write our life on His canvas. Only God knows the end from the beginning. If we knew the contents of our journey, we might attempt to alter our daily travels.

1. 2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2. People often read the end of a book to determine if the main character fairs well at the conclusion. If they don’t like the outcome, they will not finish the book. The same is true of Christians. If we knew the outcome and did not like the events ahead of us, we would attempt to change God’s plan for our lives.

1. He PROMISES us rest (Matt. 11:28-30). In order to achieve this rest we must adhere to the commands found in this passage.
   1. “Come unto me,” – if we live our life in a selfish manner excluding Jesus we should not expect Him to clear up the fog that rolls in unexpectedly.
   2. “Take my yoke upon you,” – when we are already loaded down under a burden we are to take the yoke of the Lord upon ourselves. He becomes our burden bearer. We no longer have to carry the load alone.

1. He REMINDS us He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). When the fog is heavy and we cannot see we are encouraged to cast our cares upon Him. He has proven His love and care for us, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

1. He PROVIDES His Strength (2 Cor. 12:9). Heavy fog will slow us down, put us in situations of potential danger and cause undue stress. In times like this, we become weakened in spirit, emotionally and even physically. But we serve a God Who sees through the fog and His strength is made perfect in our weakness, He proves Himself and His power rests upon us even in the fog.

Don’t quit when the shoreline is invisible to your natural sight. Trust God and “swim” knowing the shore is just ahead whether you can see it or not.

Pastor Tommy Hill is the pastor of First Free Will Baptist Church in Hamlet. He is a Richmond County native. He can be reached at firstfwbchurchhamlet@gmail.com. His column will appear each Friday in The Pee Dee Post.