But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29

Before he went swimming, the visitor to Australia asked his guide, "Are there any alligators in this river?"

"Not a single one," assured the guide.

The doubtful swimmer then asked, "What are those gray forms I see moving through the water? Are you sure there are no alligators?"

"Sir, I am absolutely sure there are no alligators in this river," said the guide. "I know that because those gray forms you see are sharks which have chased the alligators away."

Although my story isn't true (I hope), there is truth in it.

Anyone who observes our contemporary culture will see many people self-destructively swapping spiritual and psychological alligators for dangers that are even worse, that is, the sharks.

Trying to escape from one problem, they end up replacing it with another problem, which often is worse than the first.

If that happens, it usually doesn't take too long for those folks to conclude there simply is no way out of their downward spiral. They quickly come to believe that things are hopeless, and they are helpless.

If you feel your life seems to be spent sliding from the frying pan into the fire, if you know someone whose days and nights know nothing other than spiritual darkness, please believe me when I say there is a way out -- and that way out is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the way out; He is the way up; He is the One whose life was dedicated to building a bridge of salvation that would take us unharmed, unhurt, and unscratched over the alligators and the sharks.

So we might pass over the sharks and alligators, Jesus gave Himself as a heaven-sent gift and sacrifice. Everything He did was designed to win our salvation and move us safely from the dangers of this world to the permanent security of the next.

Yes, there is a way out, and that way is up. That Way is Jesus.


From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"



THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, today I bring before You those folks who have gone swimming or have been pushed into the water with alligators and sharks. If it is possible, rescue them from spiritual danger and let them see all the Savior has done to bring them safely from earth to heaven. This I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 56-58    Romans 11:1-18

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