When my grandfather was asked if he
could swim, he assured me that he swam like a brick and could dive like a
shovel. Now that I’m my grandfather’s
age at that time I guess it describes my swimming ability pretty well. As a child I was afraid of water and dreaded
school trips to swimming baths. Later,
with several friends I went to a series of adult swimming lessons. It was quite a big group with two
instructors. Unfortunately, I was
average and the instructors divided their time helping the worst and best of
the class. By the end of the course if I
tried to swim freestyle I almost immediately went upright. But I could float happily on my back, swam
the width of the pool doing breaststroke and the length of the pool doing
backstroke as long as the instructor walked alongside with a pole handy in case
I got into trouble. They declared me a
swimmer but I have rarely been in a pool since.
Like many non-swimmers I am worried
about getting out of my depth, and never developed the skill of treading
water. Strangely, so far, when life
circumstances have resulted in my finding myself out of my depth, I haven’t
panicked. And there are times when I do feel that circumstances have developed
to cause me to be out of my depth.
We know that the apostle Peter could
swim. In John chapter 21 we read of
Peter jumping out of a boat and swimming to the shore to meet the risen Jesus (see
John 21: 7-14). But on another
occasion (see
Matthew 14: 22-33) , when Peter had a go at walking on the water, he
cried out to be saved as he began to sink beneath the waves. When he swam he was not far from shore; when
he tried to walk on water he was in the middle of the Lake of Galilee. Perhaps Peter had a thing about not wanting
to be out of his depth.
Even though Peter seems to be an
impetuous character, at times he seems very cautious. He was somewhat tentative about going to the
home of Cornelius, and took
others to support him. On
another occasion, he got into trouble by compromising on the issue
of law and grace. Sometimes we
find ourselves in situations where our faith seems to be stretched thin and we
lose our peace as the waves of the circumstances overwhelm us. I have several friends who are currently doing
battle with cancer. Indeed, my own wife
recently had surgery to remove a tumour.
Most seem to cope incredibly well.
The same cannot always be said of those who are closely related to them,
who often feel suddenly out of their depth.
Sickness, financial difficulties, bad
things that other members of our families do or are done to them, the sudden
loss of employment, the breakdown of what had previously been a loving
relationship, are just some of the things that can cause us to feel out of our
depth. Disobedience to God’s clear
guidance got Jonah out of his depth in a violent life-threatening storm (See
Jonah 1). We don’t know whether
he could swim but he knew the only hope for all concerned was to abandon
himself to the waves. Once I allowed
myself to be talked out of what God had clearly shown me was his will for
me. Instead of acting immediately as I
should have done, I agreed to delay the action by 24 hours. In that time the opportunity was lost. I felt suddenly out of my depth as far as my
purpose in God’s plan was concerned.
Fortunately, God seems to have a ‘shoal of large fish’ for such
occasions that get us back on course.
I love the story of Jesus walking on
the water because everything that Peter feared was about to be over his head,
was already under the Master’s feet!
One of these days, courage and
opportunity will combine and I will get into a swimming pool again. Fear must not deny me the enjoyment of
swimming. If fear is holding you back
from pursuing something God has laid out before you, I hope you will trust the
Lord and ‘dive in’. Sometimes the
pathway of discipleship takes us out of our depth. If we find the courage to trust God at such a
time we usually find the experience is nowhere as daunting as we feared it
would be.
From the Diary
Praise God: Following a successful webinar on 27th
August we produced it as a video, which can be seen at https://youtu.be/IX0yZNXqrP8. On the day I had a bit of a cough and
lack of experience means there is a hiatus for a few seconds when I tried to
launch a poll. But we are getting better. Super to work with Gordon Banks on this. Lots of good ideas for the autumn. Do take a look.
Praise God: This Saturday (3rd September) I
ran a forum as a follow up to the webinar.
This is a new development but adds value to the webinar for anyone who
wants to discuss anything in depth.
Sunday 4th Sept. – I will
be taking the service at Fleckney Baptist Church, Leics in the morning, then in
the afternoon attending a welcoming service for a new Methodist Minister. In the evening I will be speaking at Narborough
Congregational Church, near Leicester.
Tuesday 6th Sept – after my
regular work at the prison Doreen and I set off for Kent and Sussex. Doreen will spend a few days with her sister
in Rainham, while I travel on to Herstmonceux ready for an important Court
hearing on Wednesday morning. I am a
trustee under a will for a good friend and colleague who died in 1979. My co-trustee and I are seeking to change how
we are managing this trust as it has become very difficult and one beneficiary
is vulnerable. Change is often resisted,
but resisting our proposed change will impose great difficulties. Please pray for a wise judge!
Sunday 11the Sept – Newark Congregational
Church.
Please pray for Sue Newnham, her
husband Tony and the rest of their family.
Sue has just been admitted to hospital with ovarian cancer
diagnosed. Both Tony and Sue are good
friends of ours, and former colleagues in mission. They face a challenging time
as Sue undergoes treatment. The
situation is still only at an early stage.
Anyone reading this who remembers Tony and Sue but has lost touch,
please let me know and I will gladly connect you again.
Other former colleagues needing prayer: Heather Stainer and Sylvia Lavender both now
in care. Please uphold them and Philip
and Alfred (respective husbands) at this time.
Doreen (my wife) is making a good
recovery from her cancer operation. I
have several other colleagues and friends battling serious illness. I am trying to keep in touch and value your
prayers as I try to offer encouragement to them.
The routine work of research, writing
and training goes on. A big thank you
for your prayers and also for the practical support that keeps our ministry
going.
May the Lord abundantly bless you.
Barry
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