One afternoon my mom, nephew Tae, and I went swimming.  My mother spent most of the time carrying Tae.  I dunked him, and needless to say…he didn’t want me holding him.

My mom wasn’t able to enjoy swimming or floating while carrying around Tae, so she finally gave him to me—with much protest from him.  I couldn’t take it anymore!  He would sit on the steps holding the metal bar.  He did venture to stick his foot down and touch the ground, which wasn’t as far as he thought, but the water was distorting the actual distance between his feet and the ground of the pool and he kept getting scared he’d fall.

I do the same thing Tae did, but with the Word of God.  I hold on to God’s Word…the metal bar that is unmoveable…and then I get adventurous and build up the courage to actually put the Word into action, like with tithing.

Sad thing is I often can’t see the floor and, when I don’t see results fast enough, I pull back, clinging to the word of God, but afraid to put it to action because “I tried and it didn’t work.”

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8

Ah…trust. Trust can be hard when what our eyes see and our minds reason poinst to the impossible.  When the gap between our feet and the floor appears to be too far and we worry if we can actually reach.  This is known as doubt.  Our tangible factual conclusion can poke holes in our faith; after all, we are tangible beings.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1

We live by faith not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

We as Christians are called to live by the Word of God, not with our eyes or own understandings.  We are to operate with THE TRUTH—”… the Word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all he does” (Psalm 33:4).

And I am always honest with God about my doubts. He alone can provide the assurance I need to truly replace my doubts.

As for Tae…I took him to the other side of the pool, grabbed hold of his foot and pushed it down, with resistance and a little screaming, all the way to the floor of the pool. Once he realized his foot was on the ground he let go of me and started walking around in the shallow end.

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Thank You, Lord, for Your Living Word.  Thank You for those people who You place in my life to encourage me.  Thank You for those timely words that push me forward!  And help me to trust You more than the tangible world around me.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.