Can I Keep Swimming Through The Storm?
Have you ever wanted to learn how to scuba dive?
The idea of being able to retreat into the depths of the ocean and explore all of the sea life, caverns, and underwater treasures in real-life color always seemed fascinating to me.
When I was 20 years old, I actually got the chance… kind of.
When I was a junior in college, before I lost my sight, I took a scuba class.
Yes, it was actually an elective course that was offered at my school. We were supplied with wet suits, goggles, flippers, and oxygen tanks as we learned all of the ins and outs of becoming a diver.
While it was a lot of fun, I definitely was not prepared for how challenging it would be, both mentally and physically!
Each week, we were required to learn and study content related to the precautions and proper protocols for diving safely. In addition, we were required to pass a swim test before we could begin the course. This would ensure that we were able to endure the stress of swimming with heavy gear for long amounts of time.
A scuba diver swimming in deep, blue water.
Finally, we were allowed in the water, which was in fact the pool at the school gym and not an exotic ocean reef.
Nevertheless, it was exciting to learn how to “breathe” underwater, and I enjoyed it!
That is until I had to take my mask off.
One of the lessons involved swimming with our tanks to the bottom of the pool and then removing our goggles so that we were plunged into darkness. They wanted us to be able to handle this situation if it ever happened in open water.
Well… I didn’t quite pass this test.
As soon as my mask came off, I started to panic and retreated back up to the surface.
The darkness and disorientation were just too much for me to handle…ironic, isn’t it?
Little did I know that, just a few months later, I would be plunged into a different form of darkness from which I could not so easily retreat.
This is a pretty common and normal human behavior, isn’t it?
The desire to flee whenever we face situations that make us feel uncomfortable, uncertain, or scared. We instantly want relief or an escape from that situation.
In the old testament, we can read about someone else who was running… Jonah.
In Jonah chapter 1, the Lord instructs Jonah to carry a message to the people in the city of Nineveh. Once there, he was to warn the people of God’s impending judgment on them because of their sinful ways.
“The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgement against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.’” (Jonah 1:1-2)
This was sure to be a taxing and challenging task for Jonah and one that, quite honestly, he just didn’t want to do.
So, what action did he take instead?
He ran… as far as he possibly could.
A big storm at sea.
“But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.”
(Jonah 1:3)
While on the journey, a terrible storm came upon the ship. Jonah, who was identified as the reason God sent the storm, was thrown overboard into the sea, which immediately became calm.
And what was Jonah’s fate?
“Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.”
(Jonah 1:17)
It seems as though that when we try to flee, retreat or run from our problems, we sometimes just end up creating bigger problems for ourselves.
While I did not get swallowed up by a huge fish as I began my retreat in the pool that day, I did in fact get a stern “talking-to” once I reached the surface.
When you are diving it can be dangerous to quickly rush back up to the surface, and in a real-life diving situation, this could have had more serious consequences for me.
At that moment, if I had just kept swimming through that fear instead of away from it, I would have realized that just because those goggles came off didn’t mean that I was in any real danger.
We see from Jonah, and my experience, that running, retreating, and fleeing doesn’t solve our problems, resolve our fear, or make life any easier.
A very calm, blue ocean.
Rather, if we would stay where God has us, rest in His protection, and obey His instructions, we would not only save ourselves a lot of trouble but also be blessed along the way.
In fact, when we choose to obey a task that we do not want to follow through with or endure a hardship that we would rather run from, we may just end up blessing others along the way as well.
This was the case for the people of Nineveh.
When Jonah finally gave them his delayed message from the Lord, they were able to repent, avoid God’s judgment, and witness His amazing grace and mercy instead.
I challenge you today to just keep swimming through whatever you are facing.
Instead of retreating to the surface, stay put, stay strong, and stay obedient while you wait and see how God works in the midst of it all.
