Wave Conference Devotional – Day 16

Since I am a generous person and like to treat people equally, I also started yelling at my son, telling him what he should stop doing and then asking him why he was not doing what I thought he should be doing!

The day had quickly taken a turn in the wrong direction. This was not supposed to be how it went. We were celebrating my son’s 7th birthday with a canoe trip down the river to a swimming hole. It was the type of place that you see in the movies. There was a rope attached to a tree and you could swing off the bank into the river. We wanted to make this a special day, something that he would never forget. It was becoming unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

The canoe trip started off so well. It seemed perfect! The weather was sunny and warm, not blistering hot, the birds playing through the trees, fish were jumping. You could see turtles on the banks and when you got close they would dive into the water and there where even deer on the river banks. But what started out as perfect day quickly turned into a problematic day.

First you could hear the problem. It sounded like roaring thunder off in the distance. Then you could feel the problem as the boat started to lean to the left and then to right. Then you could see the problem. We were headed into the rapids! This was unexpected to say the least! So much for this important information from our canoe rental guide!

So like any husband, I went into hero mode trying to fix this problem. However, if I am going to be honest I was more scared than I was anything else.  My wife started to help paddle and then my son started to help paddle too. Most normal people would welcome the help if they were headed into a dangerous situation but I didn’t want any help! I didn’t want them to think I couldn’t handle it. My fears had taken over. This situation that we were going through completely consumed me.

 If I am really vulnerable right now I’ll admit this is not the first time for me and I am pretty sure this happens to you, too. Maybe not on a river but in life.

While going down the river I got so consumed by what I was going through that I had lost sight of what I was going to.  We let what we go through limit us!

 We were going to a magical swimming hole for some unforgettable memories but I let what I was going through consume me. In that moment I forgot all that was ahead of us! The challenges, trials, difficulties, hardships, the unexpected stuff that life throws at you everyday can be so distracting!

Hebrews 12:2 the Bible says says, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We can take encouragement from this verse because Jesus was not distracted by what He had to go through. He did not forget what was ahead of Him! We should take note and do the same. Let’s fix our eyes on what we are going to – not what we are going through!

Let’s not be limited by our circumstances, situations and trials but lets keep our eyes focused on what we are going to. Let’s live with eternity in mind, let’s live limitless!