Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of students about Jesus. There was so much I wanted to say in the short time that I had, but the Lord had me relay the message that it is not His will for them to drown in the circumstance of life. I believe it is a message that many more may need to hear. So, I am sharing it here in the hope that someone will receive the revelation that there is nothing better than a life with Jesus. As I did with the students that day, I’d like to start with a story – a fictional tale, about a character named Finn Wilder.
Finn Wilder loved the water, but not in the usual way. He loved the feeling of holding his breath and testing his limits. One sunny afternoon, Finn decided to take his breath-holding to the next level. He went out to the dock, jumped overboard, and waded out into the deep. He sank to the bottom and began his challenge. If anyone had seen him, they may have been concerned, but Finn was having a great time. He was in his element. He thought to himself, “I got this!”
After a while, Finn begins to struggle. His lungs hurt, and his eyes are blurry. But he won’t go up for air. Gradually, he sinks deeper and deeper, and the water gets darker and darker. Finn can see the sunlight shimmering on the surface, just a few feet away, but he’s shaking his head and telling himself, “I don’t have to go up. I can handle this.” His vision starts to go dark, but he’s still thinking, “I’m fine, I’m fine…” until he’s not.
Finally, at the last moment, Finn’s eyes widen in panic. He tries to kick to swim up, but his body won’t listen. It’s too late. Finn dies; not because the air wasn’t there, not because he was incapable of breathing, but because he simply refused to accept the out when he had the chance.
Now, how crazy and ridiculous does that sound? Well, we look just as crazy trying to live life without Jesus.
Why Choose Life With Jesus?
The fact is: no matter how great a swimmer you are, you can’t stay under water and not come up for air. You’re going to drown. Similarly, no matter how much money or success you find, you can’t do life without Jesus. You’re going to drown!
Life can be rough, and there are many tough situations you will face. But remember that you don’t have to drown in what you are going through if you allow Jesus to walk with you – if you keep your eyes on Him.
Remember Peter? Peter was with the other disciples on a boat when a raging storm kicked up on the Sea of Galilee. Waves were crashing, the wind was howling. Suddenly, in the middle of all this chaos, the disciples see someone walking towards them on the water. Of course, they’re freaked out, thinking it’s a ghost!
But Jesus calls out, telling them not to be afraid, that it’s Him. Peter, always the bold one, pipes up and says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus says, simply, “Come.” So, Peter gets out of the boat and starts walking on the water, just like Jesus!
Now, here’s where things take a turn. Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and notices the strong wind and the waves crashing around him. Suddenly, the reality of what he’s doing hits him – walking on water is totally defying nature! “What am I doing?” Fear grips Peter, and he starts to sink, crying out, “Lord, save me!” Without hesitation, Jesus reaches out his hand and catches Peter.
Notice that when Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to defy the odds and stay above the water even in the middle of a powerful storm; but when he lost focus on Jesus, he got scared by the storm and started to sink. Life is something like this.
Whether it’s because of fear, doubt, or wanting to just do our own thing, when we take our attention off Jesus, we begin to sink. When Peter began to sink, the Bible says, “Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him (Matthew 14:31).”
Jesus Wants to Save You
I want you to know that no matter what it is that you are facing or will face in life, Jesus loves you and He doesn’t want you to drown. But first, you must choose to do life with Him. Peter and the other disciples chose life with Jesus. So, when they were faced with tough times in life, they already had a friend in Jesus and could call out to him and say, “Save me, help me.”
This is part of the reason why Jesus wants you to have a relationship with Him. But Jesus doesn’t only want to save you from the troubles you may face here on earth. He literally died so that you would have the ultimate salvation. Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus ‘is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him.” And, of course, most of us can recite John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
That’s the message. That’s why I am uploading this post today; to tell you that Jesus loves you. Living your life without God may seem like fun – like a grand time. Everything is good, until it’s not. Of course, doing life with Jesus doesn’t mean things will always be easy, but it does mean that the difficult things will never be final.
Now is the Acceptable Time
Today, I want to caution you: Don’t wait ‘til things get so out of control that you can’t find your way up for air. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come…” Don’t let your story end like Finn Wilder’s. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have lots of time and wait until the last moment, because it may be too late. Choose life with Jesus now!
You don’t have to be perfect to say yes to a life with Jesus. You just have to commit to keep walking with Him. You’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to fall; but, once you keep getting up — once you keep trying your best, you’ll become better and better at living like Christ.
The disciples were not perfect, but they stuck with Jesus until the end; well, except Judas, and that didn’t end well for him. So, I challenge you today to choose to do life with Jesus. Keep choosing Him until the very end. He loves you. He wants what’s best for you. And He will help you keep your head above water.
Humans were not designed to live without air, nor were we designed to live without Jesus. So, don’t drown. This is your sign to come up for air!
The metaphor of Finn Wilder really struck a chord—it’s such a powerful picture of how we can sink deeper into life’s struggles while convincing ourselves we’re ‘fine.’