Waters Rising

Lindisfarne is a small island just off the coast of Northumberland.

It is only accessible at certain times of the day as, when the tide comes in, the island is completely cut off and is isolated in the North Sea. Cars are advised to leave the island an hour before the tide comes in (unless they are staying on the island), as the water rises so quickly, completely covering the causeway.

Despite many warnings at either end of the causeway, cars have had to be abandoned and stranded passengers have had to be rescued over the years as reckless drivers have tried to outrun the tides.

Today, we watched in amazement as the water rose so quickly. Within seconds it crawled across the causeway and inched its way towards our feet (You can just make out the disappearing road at the bottom of the photo). It was easy to see how some people get stranded, when you saw how rapidly the waters rose.

Sometimes things in life can creep up on us, too. Before we know it, we find ourselves surrounded. We are stranded in the middle of situations with no memory of how we got there and no obvious way of escape.

But the Bible tells us that we need never feel out of our depth, or in over our heads, as God will always step in and rescue us.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you."
[Isaiah 43:2 NIV]

And I like the same verse in The Message translation, as it explains why God will save us.

"When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Saviour.
I paid a huge price for you (...)
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!"
[Isaiah 43:2-4 MSG]

Some of the lyrics from "Your Love Never Fails" by Jesus Culture reflect this idea -

"The wind is strong and the water's deep,
But I'm not alone here in these open seas.
Your love never fails."

When we are surrounded, we need never feel stranded, because God will rescue us and His love never fails.

S

Near Death Experience

When I moved into my flat just before Christmas last year, I did a 'big food shop' and overspent on all sorts of things to set me up for the next few months.

One of the things that I bought was the obligatory basil plant.

It sat on my window sill in a cheery blue pot and I occasionally watered it and, even less frequently, actually used the leaves in any form of cooking.

Until one sad morning when I realised that insufficient watering had led to a withered, wilted, yellow, dry plant.

It was on its way to the bin when I thought: It's pretty much dead.  Why not water it and see what happens?  It's not like you can drown it.

So I did.

I drenched it in water and by the end of the same day, it had been restored to life.

But this is not the basil plant's only near death experience.

This has happened at least six times since.  I don't know why, but I manage to forget to water it for days on end.  And then just when it seems as though I really will have to admit defeat and throw it out, I water it and it is miraculously restored to life.

Nearly seven months later, it is still going strong.

It can be the same with us and our faith: we can feel dried out, shrivelled up, weary, hopeless, fed-up and ready to give up.  But in these times, if we immerse ourselves in God's Word and drench ourselves with His love, we can be restored.

"Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst - not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless live."

[John 4:14 MSG]

"He leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul."

        [Psalm 23:3 MSG]


          "I'll refresh tired bodies;
          I'll restore tired souls."
          [Jeremiah 31:25 MSG]


When we're experiencing 'near death' moments in our faith, let's give it one last go; let's soak ourselves in God and His Word and His love and see if that doesn't revive our souls.