Lately I’ve been feeling as if I’m treading water….while wearing ankle weights…and attempting to hold something above my head. School, financial stress, relationships, it never ends. It’s as if every responsibility is scheming to overtake me; to get me to throw in the towel and admit defeat.
The picture that comes to mind is that of the movie, The Guardian, you know the one, with Ashton Kutcher. There’s a scene where he is in the pool, treading water, holding a cooler size jug of water over his head that’s poring out.
This image feels incredibly relatable. The pool is life and the water jug contains our circumstances. At times that jug can be filled to the brim, making it heavy and impossible to hold up, while sometimes it may only be partially filled yet it continues to threaten us with it’s capsizing intent.
As we journey through life, we pick things up that start to accumulate in our containers; shame from the past, stress about finances, grief of loved ones, health concerns, traumatic experiences, flat tires, work demands. Each time we face trials and hold onto whatever negativity the situation brings, we are making our jug that much heavier. Sometimes it might be a minor inconvenience, like a flat tire on the way to work that adds just a pebble to the weight we carry. Other times it’s an agonizing experience of the loss of a loved one that drops a brick into that jug. Eventually it will overflow and come raining down on us as we try to remain above the water.
What if I told you that you could trade in that ominous jug you’re perpetually holding for a lifejacket? Would you do it?
So often we grab hold of negative experiences with a fervent desire to understand them so we may prevent any repeat occurrence. But what good does that do? Certainly none of us know what the future holds, or what maliciousness may be lurking around the corner. Life is not meant to be lived with a massive weight superglued to your hands as you fight to survive.
Sure we are all treading water amidst this pool we call life, but we don’t have to be chained to circumstances, memories, traumas, feelings.
It’s time to surrender that inclination to hold onto and ruminate on the hardships, injustices, trials, and wrongdoings. There is a a divine Father who is yearning for you to relinquish control of that jug. He wants to give you rest and peace. God sees you; weary, exhausted, burdened by your attempts to sustain yourself in the midst of this unpredictable life. He sees you, He loves you, He wants to free you. So put on your lifejacket, equipped with the promises and freedom granted to you by your Father. You’re not meant to spend life treading water and weighed down; you’re called to live freely in the secure safety of God. Surely His lifejacket is the only survival tool we need.
It’s time to live unbound by your circumstances.
It’s time to float.
You have a lifejacket my friend, will you accept it?
It is for freedom that Christ has set YOU free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of circumstance.
Galatians 5:1
Holy Battleground 