What’s the best way to stay in a raft on a Class IV river rapid? Keep paddling! Read Pastor David’s blog.
1 Samuel 30
This Sunday begins a new series of messages entitled, In TIMES of Trouble. Each message focuses upon the actions David took following a tragic occurrence at Ziklag. The decisions David made following this troubling circumstance remind me of what a guide tells the crew in a whitewater raft. When going through a rough stretch of water, every knowledgeable guide will shout, “Don’t stop now. Keep paddling.” Having recently traveled through a series of class four rapids, I can tell you that the advice is much easier said than done.
Trouble tends to disorient our perception of reality. When the waves of misfortune wash over a person, even the most mundane tasks appear untenable. Though one may pick up the pace and paddle even more furiously, there are unseen forces that counter a mate’s every move.
Regardless of the lack of progress you may make, the only way out of trouble most often is THROUGH. This is the advice King David gave in his infamous Psalm: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” (23:4, KJV). Or for those Disney fans, perhaps the words of Dory in Finding Nemo, make more sense: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, oh, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo!”
For the sake of not mixing any further metaphors, allow me now to stop and invite you to worship at St. Paul and discover some biblical strategies for moving through and passed troubling times. Feel free to invite your friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors to join us in person or by livestream at www.stpaulcumc.org this Sunday, August 13th
This Sunday begins a new series of messages entitled, In TIMES of Trouble. Each message focuses upon the actions David took following a tragic occurrence at Ziklag. The decisions David made following this troubling circumstance remind me of what a guide tells the crew in a whitewater raft. When going through a rough stretch of water, every knowledgeable guide will shout, “Don’t stop now. Keep paddling.” Having recently traveled through a series of class four rapids, I can tell you that the advice is much easier said than done.
Trouble tends to disorient our perception of reality. When the waves of misfortune wash over a person, even the most mundane tasks appear untenable. Though one may pick up the pace and paddle even more furiously, there are unseen forces that counter a mate’s every move.
Regardless of the lack of progress you may make, the only way out of trouble most often is THROUGH. This is the advice King David gave in his infamous Psalm: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” (23:4, KJV). Or for those Disney fans, perhaps the words of Dory in Finding Nemo, make more sense: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, oh, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo!”
For the sake of not mixing any further metaphors, allow me now to stop and invite you to worship at St. Paul and discover some biblical strategies for moving through and passed troubling times. Feel free to invite your friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors to join us in person or by livestream at www.stpaulcumc.org this Sunday, August 13th
at 9:30 a.m. EDT. If nothing else come and meet Jesus, the greatest Guide the world has ever known.