This week we are in Ecclesiastes Chapter 1. 

Hurricane Erin recently passed along the east coast of the United States. Despite staying at sea, the storm created strong rip currents up and down the coast. Rip currents occur when water that has come ashore gets channeled into a narrow area, creating a powerful, focused current rather than a gentler flow over a much wider area. 

The common advice if you’re ever caught in a rip current is to not try to swim against it, but instead to relax and focus on staying afloat until you’re able to swim parallel to the shore to get out of the rip current, then swim back toward the shore. I watched a video recommending that you conserve your energy by floating on your back instead of trying to swim like an Olympian – it might take longer but you’re less likely to succumb to fatigue. 

It can be futile or even dangerous to fight the inevitability of the wind or water. 

The wind blows to the south 
    and turns to the north; 
round and round it goes, 
    ever returning on its course. 
All streams flow into the sea, 
    yet the sea is never full. 
To the place the streams come from, 
    there they return again. (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7 HCSB) 

I could dwell on the negatives of aging, but the color will continue to drain from my hair. Instead, I could be intentional about the unique role I have in training up our new grandson. I could obsess about what people think of me, or I could simply treat them right and let their opinions be their opinions. 

To be sure, an analogy can only go so far. I’m not suggesting we should passively go along with the crowd by default. Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction. God teaches us to do the right things in the right ways, and as always, we should lean on the Holy Spirit to guide our decisions. 

But the next time I feel forces beyond my control pulling me into a sea of worry, I’m going to try to remain calm and not flail, but instead ride the current strategically until I can get my feet back on solid ground. 

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25 HCSB) 

By Mark Stuart 

Mark is the husband of Laura, father of Shelby and Jacob (Bailey), and grandfather of Charley.