River Guide

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze"- Isaiah 43:2 (NIV).

My husband and I went on an eight-mile white water rafting trip down the Natahala River Saturday with our daughter and her husband. We had our own raft and a guide named Ben. Ben was very knowledgeable about the river, where the big rocks, rapids and falls were located, he knew the history of the river and the names of the trees and flowers we passed by. He should have, Ben was the lead guide for the company and we felt blessed to have him. We were in very experienced hands. None of us fell out of the raft, but both my son-in-law and I got tossed into the floor of the raft. Our guide had told us to anchor our feet, so we would not fall in the opposite direction, which was "out" of the boat. Let me tell you, you have no control when your body is tossed up into the air, but we were still "in" the boat thanks to Ben. Life has a way of tossing you into the air and you feel like you have no control. Bottom line, our outcome comes from trusting and believing God is with us in our raft as we navigate the rivers of this life. Jesus is our Guide, and just as we had to listen to our earthly river guide telling us what to do, how to do, and when to do, we have to keep spiritual ears open to Jesus' promptings. God's not promised there won't be rocks, rapids and falls ahead, there will be, but Jesus is there guiding us along. He's the Lead Guide and we are in very experienced hands.