""Be still and know that I am God." Our Bible verse of the week in the SUMMIT WATCH is translated as "Be calm...." in the Contemporary English Version. I see flags flapping and trees dancing in the wind across the street from my office window. I look at my desk and see it piled high with projects of all kinds. The phone rings. Email messages arrive. Visitors stop in for all kinds of reasons. I feel as if I understand what it would be like to be an ingredient in a boiling pot of soup, or a piece of debris swirling in a whirlwind, the tail end of a long line of individuals playing crack-the-whip. (Oh, wait! I 've already experienced that last one.) Cindy just stepped into my office and reminded me about the poster of a fish frantically swimming topside in a whirring blender, trying desperately not to get sucked into the spinning vortex. Yes, that!!!! I know that feeling!...

 

     There are some things that are simply not natural. I would list snorkeling among those things. It requires one to put one's face under water and continue breathing...normally.   And this is simply not something we were designed to do.               

      About 10 years ago, on vacation in Hawaii, I had a few opportunities to go snorkeling. Even though I'm not very good, I do enjoy snorkeling every opportunity I get. With a little trepidation I put the mask over my face and stick the snorkel in my mouth. Then comes the part where I ease my face under water and instantly begin to hyperventilate because the mind is now screaming to the lungs YOU'RE UNDER WATER! THIS BREATH MAY BE YOUR LAST! It's simply unnatural!

    After about 45 minutes of practice in the shallow areas, I finally relax enough so that I can swim around and start to enjoy the view, remembering to tell myself that this equipment is designed to not let me down.          

       It is only when I trust and relax that I am able to enjoy the beauty of God's underwater creations. The fish, coral, and other sea life are brilliantly colored. It is at these times I see all the things I would have missed out on had I not been willing to trust my snorkel gear. 

     There is another area in our life that is hard for us to exercise trust as humans, and that is God. For many of us it is simply unnatural to put our trust in something outside of ourselves. Because of our sinful nature we don't want to admit that we can't take care of ourselves.