When I was a kid, I took swimming
lessons at the local neighborhood pool. The easy part was when I grabbed on to
the side of the pool while someone held me up as I learned how to kick. I
passed with flying colors! Then came the hardest part of swimming—learning how to float. The instructor told me the water would hold me up if I
would just relax.
Many people say, “I haven’t learned how to swim,” but what they really mean is “I haven’t learned how to float.” Once you figure out how to do that, swimming becomes easy.
I had thrown rocks and other objects into a lake and all of them sank to the bottom. It was hard for me to believe the water would hold me up because I was much heavier than the rocks I threw. My instructor told me to lay flat as he held me up by the stomach. Then, he let go. Just as I expected, I immediately sank! I went home that day embarrassed and frustrated.
The next time I went to the neighborhood pool, I tried again to float, but my feet would immediately drop down so I could stand up. I didn’t fool anyone when I did that awkward “half swim” where I walked along the bottom of the pool while moving my arms like I was swimming.
Then one day, I quit trying to float. Instead, I held my breath, put my face in the water and just went limp. For the first time in my life, I floated. The crazy thing was—the key to floating is not trying to float. When I totally surrendered to the water and quit struggling, the water held me up.
That’s how we learn to trust God. Inwardly we go limp. We quit trying in our own strength and submit to His power to hold us up. We say, “Lord, I’m completely depending on you to come through for me.” David continually put his trust in God. He said, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You ... In God I will put my trust; I shall not be afraid” (Ps. 56:3, 4).
Just like I learned to float by trusting the water to hold me up, David learned to trust God by putting his confidence in the Lord to hold him up. And we must do the same. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
