Inside the "Gas Chamber"

For those of you who were expecting a new post on Monday and didn't find one, please accept my apologies.  An unfortunate encounter with a sinus infection put me on the sidelines for a few days, but now I am feeling back up to snuff and ready for a new post... so here goes.

This morning I am thinking about surfing.  I'm not talking about surfing the web here, rather I'm referring to the sport of surfing in the ocean.  Before you ask, let me say that I have never been surfing, I do not own a surf board, nor do I ever expect to go surfing.  All that said, I do admire the beauty, skill, and tenacity of those who love to surf.  Having watched the sport on television, I am amazed at the tremendous energy surfers expend in just getting to the place where they can begin to enjoy the waves.  I can only imagine the amount of practice it must take to perfect the sense of balance needed to stay on that surf board and ride through some churning waters.  Certainly, they must need to practice the art of just getting onto the board from the water and then staying on the thing under even the mildest of conditions.  What a learning curve that must be.  How many falls that aspiring surf master must endure in perfecting his sense of balance, but every one of them just brings him closer to that time when he will possess the strength and courage necessary to challenge even the most ferocious of waves.

Once that feat of balance has been mastered, the surfer eagerly climbs aboard and fearlessly paddles out into the ocean to find a wave.  The bigger the wave, the better.  When he spots it coming, he jumps up to take his position on the board and waits expectantly for that moment when the wave reaches him.  Then, it joy and confidence, the surfer spreads his arms open wide and welcomes the power of the wave as it carries him back toward the shore.  Time after time I have witnessed the waves overpower the surfer and sweep him off his feet, throwing him into the churning waters with savage cruelty.  Yet, even after such a fearful experience, the seasoned surfer battles his way to the surface, locates his surf board, and once again take mount with the full intention of swimming out to meet yet another wave and try it all again.

For the veteran surfer, there is that glorious moment of finding himself in the "gas chamber."  That is the effect that is experienced when a large wave creates a temporary horizontal tunnel of air with the surfer inside it.  Within that tunnel, the surfer is carried along at a rapid speed, sheltered by the wave itself, until he emerges safely at the end of the tunnel ready to start the process of finding another wave once again.  Inside the gas chamber the surfer is alone with his thoughts and has the choice of succumbing to his fears and anxiety or rising above them to find escape at the end of the tunnel.

In the end, it's all about identifying the challenge, swimming out to meet it head-on, riding out the most terrifying moments, then emerging at the end of the tunnel to seek out the next challenge with renewed energy and confidence gained from the victory of enduring the wave from within.

I know that I could begin to draw all kinds of parallels here to the challenges of the Christian life, but I'm pretty sure you've already reached your own conclusions based on your individual experiences with the challenges of life.  Be encouraged, my friends.  With each emergence from the tunnels of despair, loneliness, grief, loss, fear, illness, uncertainty... with each victory that comes from surviving the "gas chamber" to find the way of escape at the end... the Christian who rests in the strength of his Lord and Savior becomes stronger and more secure in his faith.  He develops a sense of balance that enables him to ride the wave successfully and to share the experience with those around him.  And with each victory comes the determination to face the next wave with confidence.

Wherever you are today, whatever surf you are facing, I pray that God will renew your strength, give you clear vision, surround you with His peace, and lead you to the other side of the tunnel in victory.

"Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.  For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Romans 8: 37-39)