My Dad and the Lake Monster

My Dad and the Lake Monster As a kid growing up in Southern California, I remember my dad always wanting to take his vacations in one of 2 spots: Arkansas (his home state) or Lake Havasu (one of the best places to catch catfish). A vivid memory that I have was one summer when the lake won for that year’s vacation. One afternoon, while my dad was fishing on the bank of the lake, I was on a nearby dock practicing my diving. I was secretly thrilled to be showing my dad what a wonderful diver I was. So, after many, many dives, I decided to show him what an excellent swimmer I was. As I swam around, I felt so proud of my near perfect strokes and my fast feet kicking with everything I had. Before I knew it, I had swam into a new spot where the seaweed/lake grass had grown very tall and thick. Not knowing what it was, I let my fear overtake me and I began screaming and flailing about. I was certain that some lake monster had come up from the depths to capture and carry me away. What seemed like a second, my dad was there, in the water, saving me. He had thrown his rod down and had jumped in, clothes and all to save me. In his strong arms, I felt safe. When I had thought I was a goner, my dad gave up his favorite hobby to rescue me. It is one of my fondest memories of my dad. This little story from my childhood, came to my mind this past week as I was studying a passage of scripture. Psalm 56:3-4 (New Living Translation) But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? David, the next in line to become King of Israel was on the run for his life. Saul, the acting king was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. From the surrounding passages where the above verses are quoted, David is overwhelmed as they are hunting him day and night. To make matters worse, King Saul has shared lies about David and therefore, the armies of Saul are relentless in their search for David. In his exhaustion, he pens these words to remind himself of what he knows about God and what he has experienced in his life in terms of hardship. He reminds himself that God has never failed him. God has been faithful to him and armed with this knowledge, he keeps going. He knows that the almighty Heavenly Father will be there, saving him from anything King Saul throws at him. David is just one of many men and women that are written about in the Scriptures. I believe that this passage is valuable for us to see as we encounter life’s difficulties. It is not that we will not have the feeling of fear or that we will not go through times of distress. Rather, these verses tell what we are supposed to do when tough times come. We know we are to trust God. We must remind ourselves of what we are supposed to do in these times…give your problems to God, then be still and trust Him. He wants us to truly rely on Him. Scripture states that God cherishes the opportunities to help us in our times of troubles. He is merciful because He knows that we mess up and yet He never turns His back on us. I look back on my swimming at the lake, I was so keen on showing off that I wandered off into unknown waters. Once I found myself in a terrifying situation, I screamed, and my dad was there to carry me back to safe waters. He did not stay on the shore and tell me to handle it myself. He did not turn his back on me and walk away. He jumped in and rescued me. This event in my life resembles our daily life as a believer in Christ. As we go about our daily lives, God is always there to help us. He delights in us as we dive and swim around in this earthly existence. But when we go beyond our boundaries and find ourselves in scary circumstances, He is there. He does not stand on the shore and laugh. He does not take note of our situation and walk away in disgust. No, no, no! He jumps into the water and swims out to us. When my dad came to my rescue, he did not throw me toward the shore. Though that would have been cool if he went all Captain America on me. My dad wrapped his arms around me, I calmed down and we swam together back to the shore. So, as we live in these challenging times, what is your “lake monster”? Whatever it is, God wants to be there for you. All you need to do is call to Him for help and He will be there for you. I know, it is a hard concept to understand. You mean, there is not a list of things I need to do to get His help? Nope! There is not anything that I need to do to help God bring me out of my misery. Nope! Give your requests to God, go about your life, and wait for God to rescue you. In the New Testament Jesus spoke these words: Matthew 7:7-11 (NLT) Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So, if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. I think the “waiting” is the hard thing to do. We always want to jump in and assist God. Would you stand back and let a child figure out that it is just lake grass and not a lake monster to teach him a lesson? No!! My dad was a good dad when he jumped in and swam to save me. The NIV Life Application Bible said in their notes: “Christ is showing us the heart of God the Father. God is not selfish, begrudging, or stingy, and we don’t have to beg or grovel as we come with our requests. He is a loving Father who understands, cares and comforts. If humans can be kind, imagine how kind God, the Creator of kindness, can be.” So, again, I ask…what is your lake monster? It is important that you know that size doesn’t matter. Your monster could be as small as a flea or as big as a whale. All that matters is that it is causing you stress, anxiety and fear. But God’s Word tells us that we are to be anxious about nothing. What we are to do is cast our cares to Him. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. In my life I have thrown so many of my requests to God and He has never failed me. Some of them were whoppers (no $$ for bills, car broke down, etc.) and some were exceedingly small (couldn’t find my nylons, couldn’t find my bank card). It is because of all the answered prayers that I can confidently write this blog today. It is like God has my heart bursting with joy to share my life-long victories. I know what hardship is. I know what sorrow is. I know what shame is. The list goes on and on and on. But more importantly, I know what comfort is, what joy is, what peace of mind is, etc. I know what it is like to have a lake monster the size of Texas bearing down on me, and the intense fear of failure and being paralyzed by it because you don’t know if you are going to come out of it. But I can say that every time God was there for me. He scooped me up in His strong arms and carried me back to safety. And the other cool thing is that I stumble and fall every day. The devil spends his days trying to trip us up and lead us to sinful ways. But, despite our sinfulness, God wants to help you. He made you and wants to reach out to you with so much love, guidance, and rescue. So, no matter what you have done, no matter how big or how small your lake monster is, God will rescue you out of it. Here is a little help: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me to be able to run to you when I am in trouble. I am casting my ________________________ (lake monster) to you. I know you love me and want to give me good things. Thank you for your answer to this plea for help. I will be still and be alert for the answer to this prayer. I will wait for you to extend your loving hand toward me. If you have any questions, prayer requests or would like to learn more about becoming a Christian, please leave a message in the comments area. I love you and am so grateful that you have given my blog sometime out of your busy schedule. May God bless you as you depend on Him for help with all your lake monsters.