This morning, I was praying about the enemy’s lies and the Savior’s truths. I prayed that God would make me alert and aware to recognize the lies of the enemy and to be focused enough to be able to counter those lies with His truth.
As I prayed, I had a mental picture of a person water skiing. Now, my understanding is minimal, but here’s what I know. There are waves on a lake, and water skis are built to go over the water. Even when waves rock the boat, skis are built to take the waves and overcome them. That’s not to say that the waves aren’t sometimes big enough to capsize the skiier, but you have a much better chance of navigating the waves WITH skis than without.
God revealed to me that walking with Jesus is alot like water skiing! We are built to walk with Him and depend on Him, and in Him, we are more than conquerors! Only with Him can we navigate the storms of life. When our lives are built on His truths, we can triumph.
Now let’s think about skateboards. Skateboards are built for smooth surfaces, and they don’t work on rough, rocky, or grassy terrain. Imagine skateboarding into a weedy garden. It wouldn’t be long at all before you came to an abrupt stop! The vines and weeds would quickly wrap themselves around the wheels of the skateboard and grind you to a halt.
The skateboard in the weeds is like allowing ourselves to believe Satan’s lies. When we focus on lies about ourselves or our lives, from the enemy or from the world, we quickly find ourselves unproductive for the kingdom of God. When we focus more on the enemy’s lies than on the Word of God, those lies and other fiery darts of the enemy quickly become the weeds around our spiritual “wheels,” and our growth in godliness begins to slow, then stagnate!
We must purpose to keep our eyes on the truths God gives us! Only when we ride on the water skis of faith and truth, are we able to navigate the storms and weeds of life!
Lord, allow us to ground our hearts in faith and sink our roots deeply in you. We must choose each day, sometimes more than once, whom we will serve, hear, and believe. Help us to choose you every day, that we might ride out the storms of our lives more effectively. In Jesus’ name, Amen!