We live underwater, where we see only what is right in front of us. Our limited visibility is the lense through which we see what’s next. When something tragic happens, no matter how far away, we are jarred by the wake. It stirs the sand around us and clouds our vision a little bit more, making it just a little harder to move forward. A little harder to stay focused.
And we become a little more desperate. A little more fearful that it will happen again. So we look out for the big things that might cause another wake. Of course, because our visibility is limited we aren’t certain what caused the wake, we just know what seems dangerous.
We’ve buried ourselves beneath the surface of the water, where we can float along. It may be hard to breathe, but we can just float. That way, we can’t hear and we can only see the sky. But we survive. Surviving may mean nothing more than moving with the waves, taken by currents that often move in a way that is opposite where we want to be.
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves,and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. What if we stand up? What if we plant our feet firmly on the sea floor and instead of experiencing the disruptive wake of tragedy, fear, and isolation, we stand up out of the water where we can see and hear?” – Ephesians 4:14-15
When we stand, we control the forces around us. We’re strong. We have the power to move toward our goals. The ground is our natural habitat, so it’s where we don’t have to think about survival, leaving us to simply live. Even better, we can thrive as we learn about our surroundings. We learn what is truly dangerous, (Matthew 10:28), what restores us (Psalm 23:3), and where to find shelter (Isaiah 32:2).
Also when we stand, we see the others around us. We can see that the wake that sent us off course was actually the remnant of someone else’s life sinking. If we’re standing on the ground, we can hear others warn us about what is coming. We can hear them tell us what they need. And we can walk to them. We are not alone when we stand.
Then it rains, and we feel like we’re back in the water and think about floating again…surviving. But the Lord has called us to more. He has called us to look to Him in the rain and remember that He controls the future. We are in the palm of His hand (John 10:29), on a firm foundation.
The Lord gave us the responsibility and the privilege of free will(Deuteronomy 30:19-20). It is up to us to ensure that we follow Him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life so that we might have the fullest life possible (John 10:10). Everywhere we look, even within the church, there are distractions. They’re just subtle untruths, currents to take us off course, away from The One True God.
He gave us legs. We need to use them. In this day, discernment is more important than ever. We receive constant messaging, messaging that is tailored by researchers to manipulate our thinking. It is imperative that we know the Truth so we will not float off course.