Have you ever floated down river on a raft?
It can be a very relaxing experience.
As soon as you read that, you probably imagined it.
You probably pictured a gentle current.
The warm sun on your face.
Trees overhead, giving you shade.
Maybe you even imagined the sounds.
The water lapping at the shoreline.
The chirping of birds.
Soothing to think about, isn't it?
You don't have a care in the world.
Everything around you is calm and peaceful.
But then the current picks up.
Everything begins to move by more quickly.
You sit up and hold on to the sides as the current drags you between the large rocks.
You try your best to guide your raft out of harm's way, but truth is, you have very little control over it.
After all, the current is going to take you wherever it pleases.
You're merely going along for the ride.
"Going with the flow," as they say.
Your greatest fear is tipping the boat, so you attempt to ride it out to the best of your ability.
Now, jump out of the raft and attempt to swim back upstream, trying your best to dodge whatever might be heading your way, dragged along by the current.
The waves keep pounding against you with seemingly no end.
You're finding it hard to even catch your breath as you're dragged beneath the surface, trying your very best to reach the top, but you're feeling as though you might just drown.
You might even cry out for help, feeling as though it's just too much to handle.
This brings up a very different feeling from the previous one, doesn't it?
Maybe you felt your stomach tighten as you pictured it.
Maybe your breathing changed a bit.
It's funny how, even though you weren't floating down a peaceful river or fighting the rushing current, your body reacted as you imagined it.
At first, you felt peace and calm.
Just seconds later, you felt tension.
Truth is, no matter where you might find yourself in life, you're somewhere within those two extremes.
Either things are going well and you're floating down the calm stream, things are not going well and you're fighting through something with all your strength, or you're somewhere in the middle.
That's simply our life experience.
Truth is, whether the battles in your life are real or imagined, you've felt the same physical responses to being faced with them.
But what if - in the midst of all of it - none of it really mattered?
I'm not trying to minimize any stress you might be feeling.
We all go through difficult times, and the way we respond to them is important.
But what if we knew beyond any doubt that someone far more wise and powerful than us was ultimately in control of every single situation we might face?
What if we knew every calm, peaceful day on the river was a gift?
What if we also knew every turbulent, troubling experience we face was also a gift?
What if we knew we had been brought to that place intentionally in order to make us better, stronger, and wiser than we'd be had we not faced them?
What if the only path to a far more beautiful, peaceful, fulfilling place ran directly through the rough waters?
It would change our entire perspective, wouldn't it?
It would give us a true sense of peace and contentment, no matter where we might find ourselves.
This is what a genuine life in Christ leads to.
As Paul said:
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:12-13
Btw, he wrote this while imprisoned in Rome for preaching the gospel.
He had every reason to complain about his circumstances, but he didn't.
He had been imprisoned for doing everything right.
He had gone where God told him to go.
He had spoken the words God told him to speak.
And yet, there he was.
What made him content - what gave him the secret to being content in any and every situation - was his faith in someone who was ultimately in control.
Christ Himself.
It's more than likely we'll never find ourselves imprisoned for following Christ.
But how should we view our current struggles, whatever they may be?
As followers of Christ, we need to understand we're there for a reason.
Not our reason.
Not in a way we might wish we'd be.
In the midst of all of it, we can always pray to the God of all things, asking for guidance, wisdom, and direction.
If we do, He will answer.
Maybe not today.
Maybe not tomorrow.
But at some point, He will.
He'll bring us through it, whatever it is.
We're not called to float peacefully down the river.
We're called to swim upstream, in the opposite direction of those who are content in allowing the world to take them for a ride, knowing that God will give us the strength to do so.
Who wouldn't want to live with that kind of assurance?
