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Riptide

                 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (Hebrews 2:1)

            Riptide: a strong current caused by tidal flow in confined areas such as inlets and presenting a hazard to swimmers and boaters.

          I have to laugh as I begin today’s blog post because today’s verse brings together concepts I’ve been writing about: paying attention and drifting.  And the idea of rip tides snuck in. They aren’t the only time that currents can catch us unaware, but they’re a good example.

          Not long ago, I wrote (again) about peace, and peace requiring that we drift along with whatever the other with whom we are at peace – as with a river. Now and again, we may find ourselves caught in a current or a riptide, a strong flow of water that takes us in a direction we don’t want to go. We might not notice at first. When we do notice, we may be shocked. We’re supposed to be at peace with the river (or sea) so why has it seemingly turned against us?

          With all my talking about peace meaning submitting or floating along with the Great River (or Sea) that is God, one might get the impression that God wants His children to be weak, helpless flotsam, incapable of swimming against the current. But such is not the case. His goal is for us to be “Merpeople” who can dive deep into His waters, and to fight against currents that are not His. That requires lung capacity, endurance, strength, and an understanding of the water.

          One of the things that Dallas Willard talks about in Renovation of the Heart is that it’s not really possible to think about two different things at the same time. Another is that our feelings tend to respond to what we’re thinking about. So the solution to our thinking about things we shouldn’t, or feeling in ways we don’t want to or should not is not to determine not to think about X, or to not feel some specific way about X. In other words, these things are like rip currents. You can’t win by floating or swimming with them. That gets you into more trouble. You can’t win by swimming in the opposite direction. Rip currents are stronger than you are. The solution is to swim across them, to get yourself out of the current.

          Another book I’m reading: One Thousand Gifts suggest that when we find ourselves in one of these dangerous currents of thought or feeling, that we should look for opportunities for thankfulness In other words, we need to change our focus. It’s not a call to go into denial or to chuck our brains in the garbage, but we have to get out of that current and to do so, we must get ourselves into another current – one that is safe for us. Thinking about God, praising God – disciplining ourselves to swim to a different channel (whether a current of water or TV) is the safest, most direct solution to being caught in a mental or emotional riptide.

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