Well, I learned something fundamental the other day…Subarus don’t swim well…
During the recent flash flooding in Colorado Springs, I got trapped by a deluge of water coming directly at me. The image above is what the water looked like when I got there. Before I could turn around, water went down the road and reached the top of my wheel well.
I thought about jumping out and pushing, but the water was coming down the road so quickly that I figured it wasn’t worth the risk. When I realized the water was coming into the car, I finally decided to jump out and start pushing. I was freezing in water up to my thighs, pushing with all my might, and wondering what would happen to my car. The night was a little chaotic, but I didn’t once specifically pray or talk to God.
Oddly enough, throughout the entire event, I had peace. Amid this storm around me, I had a calmness within me. I knew the events were not in my favor and that the upcoming weeks would be challenging, but there was an overwhelming sense of peace despite the circumstances.
As the night dragged on, my once positive demeanor began to take a hit. I tried to stay positive and smile, but all I could think about was the “should have’s.” I should have stayed at the cafe and not gone out, I should have turned right instead of left, I should have immediately jumped out of the car… we need to stop shoulding on ourselves!
The morning after the flooding, I learned that the car was totaled. Although I struggled to express my ordinary positive words externally, I realized everything would be fine internally. Don’t get me wrong; my brain was trying to figure out if I wanted to cry, scream, or simply be.
Rather than let my emotions control me, I decided to rest outside. I asked God, “How should I respond to this?” To my surprise, He almost immediately told me, “Look To Me.”
What did that mean? I had no idea, but the weight of the words carried so much importance that I simply meditated on them and focused on Him rather than the mental storm I was going through.
From that point, I decided inwardly to reject all thoughts of the past few days. Jesus was in front of me, calling me forward to Him. It hasn’t been easy. The mental fight to look to the future is physically exhausting. But that sense of peace is still here. I don’t have to have a perfect relationship with God, but understanding who He is helps remind me that this will all work out. That understanding came through the following scripture references:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28-29
Do you know what all things in the original Greek means? ALL THINGS. God isn’t in the business of letting people down. Instead, He wants to take every hurt, every pain, every hindrance and turn it into something beautiful. I will clarify that this is a promise to those who Love God and are called according to His purpose. If you continue to read on, you will see that means us.
For whom he did foreknow (Have knowledge beforehand), he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
That means God knows who will choose to walk with Him and who won’t. And for those who do walk with God, He predestined (decided beforehand) those people to be conformed to the image of Christ. And for those He predestined to be like Christ, He also called them, Justified them, and glorified them.
We can see then that we are called by God, meaning that all things WILL work out for the good. That is my expectation. I EXPECT God to make this work together for good. I hold Him to His word, I challenge Him to uphold His promises because I know He will.
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
– Philippians 3:13-14
I’m right with Paul. I don’t have this whole thing figured out, but I have part of it. My past, whether a previous life or a simple mistake, should be forgotten. I should reach forward to the promises God has laid ahead of me and press on toward those things.
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