Hang in There: A Response

Lifeguard training isn’t easy. I have to admit, there was one time in particular I thought I was going to die. We were doing life-saving drills. One person had to lie flat at the bottom of the pool – the drowning victim. Another person had to swim to the bottom, grab onto the victim, then lift the drowning victim to the surface. I was the drowning victim.

I know I wasn’t at the bottom of the pool long, but I really wanted my rescuer to hurry. I’m not sure what the conversation at the top was. I just knew the conversation needed to end quickly. Nothing can compare to wanting to take a breath, but knowing you can’t. All I could do was keep telling myself, “You can make it. You can make it.” Everything came down to one simple truth. Before I could breathe I needed to be rescued.

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Happy December FREEBIE
from Simply Youth Ministry
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Maybe you feel like you are drowning in ministry. You see or hear how well everyone else is doing. You keep saying to yourself, “You can make it.” What you really need is a rescuer.

I’m reminded of when Elijah felt the same way. It seemed everyone was out to get him, God had abandoned him, and nobody knew what he was going through. Elijah couldn’t even breathe, and was ready to die. The Rescuer came to Elijah and gently encouraged him to “Hang in there.”

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Happy December FREEBIE
from Simply Youth Ministry
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I know what it’s like to feel like you can’t breathe. For me it came when I was suddenly fired from a youth ministry position I loved; when I was asked to resign because a couple people rallied and gossiped against me; when I tried everything I could to build a thriving youth ministry, but failed at every attempt. There have been so many other times I felt like I was at the bottom pool waiting for someone to rescue me so I could take a breath. You are not alone. Your Rescuer is coming. Jesus will not let you drown. And all I can say is “Hang in there.”