His Hand is Always Reaching Out to Save Us

It was going to be a beautiful early June weekend, so in a spur-of-the-moment decision, I took 3 boys and one Grandma to an amusement/water park on Saturday.  It was perfect!  They boys were very excited and of course, it being 80 degrees and all, their favorite part was the water park.  Once we hit the Soak Zone, the boys headed straight for the “Wave Pool.”  This pool has a restriction for kids who are 48 inches tall and under.  They have to wear a life vest and be accompanied by an adult the entire time they are in there.  The adult must be at arm’s length of the child at all times. 

Dylan is just 46 inches tall, so we got the vest and in we went.  As you may know, the way “Wave Pools” work is that there are periods of total calm followed by a period of powerful, man-made waves.  When Dylan and I walked into the pool, it was calmed.  We played and enjoyed some much needed coolness.  We sat in the shallow end and let the refreshing caress of the water relax our tense muscles.  Then, as soon as the whistled blew announcing the beginning of the waves, I realized the reason for the strict enforcement of the rule regarding young kids at the entrance. 

Dylan got tossed and turned and jerked around like the laundry in the spin cycle!  The mighty waves were too strong for my little one, whom I had to keep rescuing by grabbing him with both hands to lift him out of the powerful waters.  We moved to the side where it seemed tamer, but still, he could not stand without been tossed about.  He got braver and his legs steadier as he journeyed through the waves several rounds and as he realized that I was there with him all the time. 

He became more confident because he knew my hand was permanently reached out to him.  Every time he needed to pull himself out of the water and couldn’t do it by himself, he sought my hand which he found faithfully every time.  He also realized that even when he couldn’t or didn’t have the strength to reach out to grab my hand, that I would not wait and with precise timing, both my hands would hold him by his side and pull him out into safety so he could breathe again. 

Hmm…yes, that’s exactly right.  Though dim, this was a pretty good reflection of our lives with the Lord our God.  As we toss and turn in the middle of violent waves that threaten to tear us apart limb by limb, the Almighty God we serve stands right next to us, unmovable, unshakable, and unchangeable. 

Dylan’s experience at the “Wave Pool” resembles our walk with the Lord.  Periods of calm, when we playfully wade in the water or just sit and enjoy the peace, followed by seasons when we can barely seem to be able to catch our breath.  Periods when we have time to relax and soak in the wonders of our Great God, followed by moments of confusion when the only thing that saves us is reaching out our hand to His which is always extended to us.  Periods of evident joy when everything seems just right, followed by times when we are too weak, too lost, too beat up to even raise our hand to grab the hand that is reaching out to save us.

As I drove a car full of exhausted little boys (and one Grandma), I took time to praise Him for who He is.  I am so glad that our God is mighty to save and loving enough to do it all the time.  I praise Him for “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.  On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us,” as we know He will.  (2 Corinthians 1: 10)  After all, we know that He is “my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)