Follow Your Leash
Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope. (Psalm 119:116)
Surfers know that when they see a set of waves coming in, they have to do the very thing they don’t want to do: swim toward the wave. As someone who has done some surfing, I can tell you that your first instinct is to run toward the shore. But you don’t want to do that. Instead, you need to swim toward the wave and try to go under it or over it.
But if you are paddling out and the wave picks you up, the worst way to go is backward, which I have done. You can get so disoriented that you don’t know which way is up. And more than one person has drowned because they didn’t know which way was up. They went down when they should have gone up, and the outcome was fatal.
So the best thing to do if you find yourself in this situation is to grab the leash that is attached to your ankle and pull on it. Then go in the direction of the leash. Why? That leash is attached to your board, your board is buoyant, and it will be on the surface. So even if it goes against the logic of the moment, follow your leash to the top.
In life, the Word of God is like that leash on a surf board. When we are feeling overcome by trials and difficulties, it will lead us to the surface where we can get the proper perspective on what is really happening. Your emotions, like whitewater, will get the best of you, and you will be overwhelmed. But when we hope in God and believe the Word of God, it corrects us.
We might get caught in another wave, and then another, but we need to keep hoping and trusting— again and again and again.
Summary sentence: The Word of God is like the leash on a surf board!
Tags: God’s Word, hope
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
SPECIAL OFFER
You can receive, Start! to Follow: How to Be a Successful Follower of Jesus Christ by Greg Laurie, as our thank-you for your financial support of Harvest Ministriesthis month.
To help you do a little spiritual checkup, Pastor Greg has written a book called Start! to Follow: How to Be a Successful Follower of Jesus Christ. In this new resource, Pastor Greg defines what discipleship is and encourages believers to become disciples.
“I thank God for everyone out there who listens to our broadcast and uses our resources, and who has also chosen to be a supporter both prayerfully and financially. Your gift brings relevant teaching from God’s Word through our daily broadcast A New Beginning, our crusades, and our online ministry channel, and this year across our country through Harvest America.
