Quicksand

Perhaps you’re familiar with the quicksand scenes in movies. Wikipedia states that during the 1960’s, nearly 3% of all films included such a scene… you know, someone begins to sink in mud or sand or clay and they began to flail about in a panicked way. Coincidentally, I just saw such a scene in Wreck-It Ralph. And inevitably, someone cautions, “Don’t move!” Because apparently, the more you move, the quicker you sink. But you know what… according to Wikipedia, this does not happen in real life. This type of scene is unrealistic and one being fully submerged in quicksand is purely fiction. And metaphorically, I find this to be true in my own life – spiritually speaking, that is.

For the past week, I have been fully submerged in God’s word and captivated by verses regarding His spiritual food and drink. And how simple it all sounds… “Come to me, eat and drink.” And it’s beautiful and seems so simple. But realistically and practically, how do you do that? How does one drink living water and feast on the bread of life? And at the risk of sounding over simplistic, I have found that it is just that… simple. Because eating and drinking and resting in Him is dependent on one thing… faith. Yes, we can come to Him, but “come” will take us only as far as our faith will carry us. So that’s the question… do we have faith in God? Do we really trust Him with our lives and every, single circumstance? Or do we still place our faith in man and precarious situations that can change at any given moment. And here’s truth… if we trust in the temporal, then we’re building on sand. And if we trust in only what we can see, then we end up focusing more on the problems at hand than on the God who can do all things. And when our troubles loom larger in our sight than God, we sink…

For troubles without number have surrounded me; my sins have overtaken me; I am unable to see. They are more then the hairs on my head, and my courage leaves me. Psalm 40:12

Only faith in God can hold us upright. And that type of faith can only be cultivated over time. I know, because after fifteen years of walking with God, I finally have a track record with Him. See, I am a worrier by nature. I tend to fret about the things I have no control over. It’s what I do. But now I can see, time and again, that God has always taken care of me. Always. No matter how many times I sank down in fear and anxiety about what might have been, God never let go of me utterly. He never released His grip on me, and by His grace, I never fully submerged in the muck of my making. God always brought me through it, whatever it may have been. And so it’s only now, after fifteen years, that I can see what’s taken place. It’s only through the years of walking with God, that my faith has been established.

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6

I was amused when I read about quicksand. I’m no scholar, so I confess I don’t understand all of it. But pieces of it came together for me. Specifically, the fact that quicksand consists of three elements. One, a fine granular material (such as sand or silt), clay and water. And what a picture of our lives here! See, God is the Potter, and we are the clay. And we have unlimited access to His living water. And the sand? Well, “like sand through the hour glass, so are the days or our lives”… And what I find incredibly interesting is the fact that quicksand forms in loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. The way I see it, the sand is our every day activities. And the best we can hope for is that our sand (or circumstances) is loose so that we can walk freely, unencumbered. But it’s only when the sand becomes suddenly agitated that we’ll know how deep our faith runs. In other words, when the pressures of life begin to mount, and when our schedules become more compressed, and when we feel restricted in some way… will we sink or will we stand? Will our faith hold us up? Because the fact is, quicksand forms in both standing water or in upwards flowing water. See, even if we’re fully immersed in God’s free flowing, living water, the sand can suddenly be agitated. It makes no difference where we are (spiritually), because quicksand can form. As Jesus said, troubles will come. So, will our faith hold us up, or will the burdens of life threaten to bury us. Will we stand, or will we sink?

The truth about God & me is that I’ve not always stood. It’s only in looking back that I can see this. But now, I have a track record with God. I can see His hand upon my every step. And so, my faith is deepened. And I have hope… the hope that next time I will stand. We all can. Because whether we realize it or not, we have a firm place to rest our feet. For Christ is the solid rock. And all that other ground is simply sinking sand.

I waited patiently for the LORD, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. Psalm 40:1-2