Rapid Test

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. —Psalm 63:3-4 (NIV)

The rushing water roared as we approached the rapids. My heart became a drum, beating to the rhythm of the river. My mother was seated in the front seat of the inflatable kayak, her life jacket scrunched up around her chin. I paddled, trying to keep the nose of the kayak pointed forward. “Hold on!” I shouted. Like a roller coaster, we dropped over the rocks and were ushered into the middle of the foamy water. But I couldn’t keep the boat straight. We turned slightly and capsized. Everything dumped into the river—the wet bag, our food, and my mother!

“Mom! Where are you?” Her head popped up on the other side of the boat. “Lift your knees!” I shouted. She was calm and grasped the kayak as we rode the rapids together bobbing in the water like lobster buoys severed from their traps.

“I’m okay,” she sputtered, wiping the water from her eyes.

Once we eased into calm waters, we pulled the kayak to shore and climbed back inside.

Thank God I didn’t drown my mother that day! In retrospect, it was one of the best memories I have of spending time with her. And nothing bad happened, even though I worried something would. But that’s what worry does—it steals joy and distracts you from what’s important … relationship.

“I feel fragmented,” I told a friend recently. “Overwhelmed and pulled in so many directions.” Is that good or normal? Or am I missing something? When I read God’s Word I see promises of peace. I see an offer to take my burden. I see advice to ignore my own understanding and trust Him—to ride headlong into the rapids and let Him worry about the boat. Yet, I find myself worrying, trying to steer, even yelling at the waves, “Stop, slow down! Don’t take me that way!”

It sounds funny, but it’s true. I am being soaked by to-dos and a never-ending list of rotating chores. But suddenly … I realize … there is no reason to let any of this steal my joy. All my busyness has nothing to do with intimacy with God. He isn’t asking me to keep the kayak straight. He’s asking me to let Him into the boat so we can be together. In fact, He wants to be with me every moment of every day. When this happens, instead of telling God what to do, I say to myself, “S-T-O-P!”

Stay close.
Tell Jesus I love Him.
Obey what He is calling me to do in that moment.
Pray, pray, pray!

Oh! How I so easily forget that the only thing God desires is that I love Him and love others. Anything else I do is a structure to simply support those two things. David seemed to understand this truth in Psalm 63, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water … I cling to you; your right hand upholds me” (vs. 1, 8 NIV).

Likewise, the statement “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 5:15b NIV) isn’t just a blanket statement to shock us, it’s an invitation to stay close and be with Jesus. Nothing worthwhile is done apart from him because it is the “being with Him” that makes anything worthwhile.

I pray this blesses you as much as it has me. He loves you deeply and desires intimacy with you. Open your heart and let Him in, whether you’re in a season of rapid testing or calm waters, He is there to love and trust and enjoy forever, Amen.

Father, You are welcome in my heart and mind today. Come abide with me through every washed dish, prepared meal, and paper filed. Sit with me as I praise You, Lord!

Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.
Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.
They will be given over to the sword
    and become food for jackals.
But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
—Psalm 63 (NIV)

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, that you may abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13 NJKV).

Marlene McKenna

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

 Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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