Satan is the undertow...

Yesterday at the beach, I did one of my favorite things - splashed in the waves.  As I was out splashing in the waves, I was thinking about my blog from the morning and I came to this conclusion:

Satan is like the undertow.

Have you ever been out splashing around in the waves and looked back toward shore only to discover that you've drifted a few hundred yards from your spot on the beach?  While you were blissfully jumping waves and splashing in the surf, the slight pull of the undertow slowly caused you to drift.  Somethines it is subtle like that, you don't even realize it's happening until you look back towards the shore and realize you have to swim a little. 

Sometimes, that's how Satan works. You're totally unaware that it happens. You're out splashing around in life, having fun and doing things you think are completely harmless. It's only when you take a minute to look back at shore that you realize you've drifted. In those cases, it's often easier to "get back to shore". You are able to notice you've drifted, recommit to living life for Christ and things fall back into place rather easily.

Sometimes though, the undertow is terrifyingly strong.  I remember one time I was swimming in the ocean with my college friend Reeny.  We were out splashing in the waves having a great time, when we got caught in the undertow of a rip current.  We swam and we swam and we swam, the lifeguard whistled for us to move out of the current...and we tried.  By the time we swam parallel to shore and got out of the current, we were exhausted.

Those are the times we get so far off track that we think we might never get back to God.  We might not even realize how far off track we are until someone, like that lifeguard, lets us know.  We struggle and struggle to get back to God.  When we finally do, we stumble to shore - weary, beaten, and exhausted.

The beautiful thing is - no matter how it happens, no matter how we make it back to shore...God is there.  He's the sun warmed beach towel we flop down on.  He's our place to rest and find safety.  We can never drift far enough away that we won't make it back to Him.

"O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!
Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?
You are entirely faithful.
You rule the oceans.
You subdue their storm-tossed waves."
(Psalm 89:8-10)