ControlSample

LIFEGUARDING 101 

I don’t want to brag or anything, but I am the proud recipient of a Lifeguarding Merit Badge from the Boy Scouts (I know, I’m kind of a big deal). Here’s the truth: that little 1.5-inch circle patch I received at age 11 qualifies me to do ZERO official lifeguarding. But, over the course of earning that badge, I learned a lot of really fascinating stuff about the world of lifeguarding.

The one thing that I’ve never been able to forget is how dangerous a drowning person can be. You might think, “What?! That’s crazy! That's the person who needs help.” You are correct, but a person fighting for their life in the water is not operating from a rational place in their minds…they are in a full panic, their primitive lizard-brain has fully taken over, and they will do whatever it takes to stay alive…including accidentally drowning the lifeguard who is trying to save them. Yup. It happens. 

So, what do they train young lifeguards to do in this situation? Well, if you swim out to the victim and discover that they are in full panic mode, you stay away from them. That sounds cruel, but it’s really to protect both of you. The lifeguard is supposed to talk to them, try to get them to focus and calm down, but not to get within reach of them until they have become calm or – get this – until they’ve lost consciousness. That’s right, sometimes the right thing to do is to let the victim almost drown so that you can then swim them safely back to shore and revive them. Crazy, right?!

I don’t share this information so that you’ll mistrust lifeguards for the rest of your life. I tell you this because it’s kind of a perfect example for how we can be with God sometimes. God is obviously the lifeguard – He’s in control and He knows what He’s doing. Sometimes, we’re the panicked swimmer – we’re losing our minds, have no idea what’s going to happen, and we’re just freaking out. When we get to that place and God comes alongside to try and rescue us, we become our own worst enemies and actually get in the way of our Rescuer. And sometimes, God just has to wait – He has to gently speak to us and remind us that He’s there, but He can’t just rush in and fix the situation because we won’t let Him…we’re still flailing around for control. 

Is this you right now? Is there something going on that has you totally panicked, and you’re wondering why God isn’t doing what you want or expect Him to do? Maybe the issue isn’t with God, but it’s that you haven’t fully surrendered the situation to Him. Maybe He’s been right there the whole time trying to comfort you, but He’s waiting for you to lean back and let Him do His thing so He can bring you out of this. Read these passages and spend a little time talking with God about anything you haven’t given Him control of yet.