Just keep swimming

In 2003 the movie Finding Nemo came out. Dory, the forgetful fish, often says “just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, what do we do we swim.” This has become a mantra for many overworked, overwhelmed and frankly just exhausted people; just keep swimming. Just keep plodding on and we will get there; it will get better.

Now I love swimming. I have been swimming since I was little. And let me tell you something, swimming is hard work! It takes energy and perseverance and strength, it is exhausting. I did the Midmar Mile in 2017; it is the world’s largest open water swimming event, this year 13 000 people swam. I trained for months and after the race I was exhausted. There were times during the race that I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish. Times when I wanted to give up, times I felt unable to just keep swimming.

Life has been like that recently too.

The last 4 months have been incredibly difficult for us. There has been one thing after the other and just when you think you are getting on top of life something else hard happens. I have told Colin repeatedly the last few weeks, I am so tired of hard! Many many many times I have felt unable to just keep swimming.

And that is ok. Because the Bible doesn’t say keep swimming. The Bible says just stand. In Ephesians 6 Paul writes of the armour of God and he says “Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Sometimes we can fight with our sword of the Spirit; we can enter into hand to hand combat and we need our breastplate of righteousness and our helmet of salvation. Sometimes we run into the battle and we need to gird up our tunics with the belt of truth and fit our feet with readiness. But sometimes we cannot run or fight, we cannot go on the offensive.  We have a piece of defensive armour  too – the shield of faith. For the days or weeks or months or years when all we can do is stand behind our shield and use it to extinguish all the flames of the evil one. And that is OK.

I am in a period of life when all I can do is stand behind my shield. I am standing and I am praying and I am trusting that there will be a day when I can fight. However, for now all I can do is stand. So I hold fast to God’s command – that at the very least, I should stand and to His promise – that when all is said and done, I will still be standing because He is fighting for me.

If you cannot swim anymore, if you are weary and battle worn, if you cannot fight; then just stand with me. Let us stand together; let us put our shields together and protect each other. Let us not stand idly, let us actively stand – praying for those who are fighting and praying for strength to one day return to the fight.