“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 43:2a
Last month I had the opportunity to travel
to Brazil to visit a good friend. While I was there, we took a day trip to see
Iguazu Falls. Iguazu Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and
consists of 275 waterfalls over a stretch of roughly 1.7 miles. It’s an amazing
site to behold!
After walking along the path to view all of
the amazing falls from the Brazilian side of the Iguazu River, we made our way
back to the bus stop to start our journey home. From the bus stop, we could see
several miles upstream where the water is calm. As we were waiting for the bus,
I spotted a leaf floating along the quiet part of the river — floating along
with no idea of what its journey held just 50 yards away.
Life is often much like this leaf’s
journey. We move through our days in relative peace checking items off our
to-do list, raising our kids, studying for exams, feeding our families, or
driving carpool. Within moments our lives are interrupted by unexpected
circumstances, and we feel like the rushing waters will overtake us. Many of my
friends have recently experienced this abrupt change in circumstances. A
15-year old killed in a car accident after enjoying a weekend with his family,
a pre-teen son dead after being diagnosed with Leukemia two weeks earlier, a
young lady awakens to blurred vision and discovers that she has a fatal brain
tumor, a husband on the verge of retirement fired from his job — the list goes
on and on.
These circumstances often prompt us to ask
many questions about God, our self and life in general — Why? Where are you?
What are you trying to teach me? Is this necessary? What have I done?
As I watched that leaf float along, I was
struck by the fact that the water was the source of its movement. In our life,
God carries us along. Regardless of the circumstances, He is the very source of
our life. Not only is He our source of life, He has promised to never leave us
or forsake us. As God stated to Israel in Isaiah 43, “When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not
sweep over you.” In the midst of the raging rapids, it is easy to forget his
promise to us. Thankfully He is faithful regardless of our emotional state in
the midst of difficult circumstances. It’s likely all of us will face raging
waters at some point in life, but we can rest in the fact that He is with us, He
is for us, and He will carry us through.
- Donna Downs
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