I don’t know how many of you have ever white water rafted, but I ha
ve. Now I’m not talking about one of those sissy rivers in North Georgia like the Ocoee; I’m talking about the real deal. I’m talking about the Gauley River in West Virginia. For most of the year, the Gauley is a very nondescript quiet river; that is until Gauley Season. Starting in September, the Corp of Engineers begins a series of controlled releases through the Summersville Dam which feeds the Gauley River. Those releases turn this quiet tame river into one of the best white water rivers in the country. It is full of class IV and V rapids with names like Sweet’s Falls, Lost Paddle, Upper and Lower Mash, and Pure Screaming Hell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui7YQ2XDkU4&feature=PlayList&p=2B5BD3DE8E5F4770&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=43v=Ui7YQ2XDkU4&feature=PlayList&p=2B5BD3DE8E5F4770&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=43).
If you Google Gauley River, you’ll see all kinds of pictures and videos; nothing of which can prepare you for what you are about to endure. First of all, it’s cold (remember, this is October in West Virginia). This is only a problem until you actually get on the river because after you’re on the river, you don’t have time to think about the cold and peeing in your pants (which you’ll do on almost every rapid) has a tendency to keep you warm. Second, none of the instructions you have received about paddling, what to do in case you fall out, etc. can prepare you for what you hear. That’s right, before you actually see the rapids, you hear them; the big ones sound like a train. I still remember that first rapid, it was something called a hydraulic preceded by a five foot drop. A hydraulic is a big boiling whirlpool of water. If you don’t have enough momentum traveling into a hydraulic, you get sucked in and sucked down. If you’re lucky, after the hydraulic sucks you down, it throws you down the river. If you’re unlucky, you pop back up in the hydraulic and get sucked down again and again and again. There are huge undercut boulders that the river flows under where you can be sucked in and drown (that’s where I fell in!) And once you’re in the raft, you’re in for the duration. Even if you could get out you’re in the land of Deliverance and we all know how that turned out.
I have discovered that my spiritual life has been challenged over the past several months in similar ways as my physical life was challenged on the Gauley. I have heard lots of people talk about living by faith over the years. It sounds very spiritual, very exciting, very adventurous, etc. It’s kind of like rafting the Gauley, in fact I bet a bunch of you are saying, “Man, I can’t wait to try that!” The only problem is that there’s a big difference between talking about rafting the Gauley and actually doing it. It’s one thing to hear and see people doing it and actually being in a raft heading towards that first class V rapid. When I think about it, there are not many people I know that I would put in that “living by faith” category. And by “living by faith” I mean living in such a way that if God doesn’t come through for you, you’re sunk. Now, I’m not there, but I feel like my raft is taking me closer and closer to that rapid. I began working full time with Source of Light this summer and received my last paycheck from Landmark August 1. I now find myself in a position where I am more dependent on God than I have ever been. Verses like “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear,” and “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God,” have become very challenging. Sometimes I feel like I have bipolar faith, one moment I feel confident God will meet my needs, the next I wonder if those verses are really true. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining or looking for people to feel sorry for me (at this moment I’m at the confident end of the spectrum), I’m just saying that talking about living by faith and living by faith are about the same as talking about the Gauley River and getting in the raft.
ve. Now I’m not talking about one of those sissy rivers in North Georgia like the Ocoee; I’m talking about the real deal. I’m talking about the Gauley River in West Virginia. For most of the year, the Gauley is a very nondescript quiet river; that is until Gauley Season. Starting in September, the Corp of Engineers begins a series of controlled releases through the Summersville Dam which feeds the Gauley River. Those releases turn this quiet tame river into one of the best white water rivers in the country. It is full of class IV and V rapids with names like Sweet’s Falls, Lost Paddle, Upper and Lower Mash, and Pure Screaming Hell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui7YQ2XDkU4&feature=PlayList&p=2B5BD3DE8E5F4770&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=43v=Ui7YQ2XDkU4&feature=PlayList&p=2B5BD3DE8E5F4770&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=43).If you Google Gauley River, you’ll see all kinds of pictures and videos; nothing of which can prepare you for what you are about to endure. First of all, it’s cold (remember, this is October in West Virginia). This is only a problem until you actually get on the river because after you’re on the river, you don’t have time to think about the cold and peeing in your pants (which you’ll do on almost every rapid) has a tendency to keep you warm. Second, none of the instructions you have received about paddling, what to do in case you fall out, etc. can prepare you for what you hear. That’s right, before you actually see the rapids, you hear them; the big ones sound like a train. I still remember that first rapid, it was something called a hydraulic preceded by a five foot drop. A hydraulic is a big boiling whirlpool of water. If you don’t have enough momentum traveling into a hydraulic, you get sucked in and sucked down. If you’re lucky, after the hydraulic sucks you down, it throws you down the river. If you’re unlucky, you pop back up in the hydraulic and get sucked down again and again and again. There are huge undercut boulders that the river flows under where you can be sucked in and drown (that’s where I fell in!) And once you’re in the raft, you’re in for the duration. Even if you could get out you’re in the land of Deliverance and we all know how that turned out.
I have discovered that my spiritual life has been challenged over the past several months in similar ways as my physical life was challenged on the Gauley. I have heard lots of people talk about living by faith over the years. It sounds very spiritual, very exciting, very adventurous, etc. It’s kind of like rafting the Gauley, in fact I bet a bunch of you are saying, “Man, I can’t wait to try that!” The only problem is that there’s a big difference between talking about rafting the Gauley and actually doing it. It’s one thing to hear and see people doing it and actually being in a raft heading towards that first class V rapid. When I think about it, there are not many people I know that I would put in that “living by faith” category. And by “living by faith” I mean living in such a way that if God doesn’t come through for you, you’re sunk. Now, I’m not there, but I feel like my raft is taking me closer and closer to that rapid. I began working full time with Source of Light this summer and received my last paycheck from Landmark August 1. I now find myself in a position where I am more dependent on God than I have ever been. Verses like “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear,” and “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God,” have become very challenging. Sometimes I feel like I have bipolar faith, one moment I feel confident God will meet my needs, the next I wonder if those verses are really true. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining or looking for people to feel sorry for me (at this moment I’m at the confident end of the spectrum), I’m just saying that talking about living by faith and living by faith are about the same as talking about the Gauley River and getting in the raft.
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