I Thought I Could Get Away With It

This is one of our neighbour's houses on the mountain as the river continued to rise and eventually flooded their home

 We’ve had a lot of rain here on the mountain this Summer (remember, our seasons are opposite of the States- so it’s Summer for us right now). We actually had flash floods 3 days in a row the week before last and steady rain almost every day last week. This week the sun has peaked through the clouds for a few hours each day but, for the most part, it’s been raining all the time.

Well, when we had the flash floods (the week before last) all the rivers and streams  overflowed their banks more than ever before (since we’ve been here, anyway) and they actually covered the roads so that they were impassible. The problem with that is that there’s no way off the mountain when this happens. We’re just stuck.

One day, as we were leaving the mountain to go take care of some ministry stuff, we came to a place where the river was overflowed- totally covering the only road off the mountain. One of our neighbours was actually stuck in the middle of the river because his truck had stalled-out as he was trying to drive across it. It had to be pushed out so that he could try and get it running again. As he was trying to get his truck going, there were a line of cars on either side of the river waiting for the waters to subside. 

After his truck was pushed out of the moving water, our neighbor neighbor began working on his 'waterlogged' engine while the cars wanting to leave the mountain waited until the flood waters resided.

One of the men on the mountain has a 4x4 Jeep with a snorkel on it and drove through the waters- no problem. And as I sat there, thinking about all the stuff I had to do, I started contemplating whether or not I should try to drive through the water too??? I know that the rule is ‘never try to drive through moving water because you never know if the road beneath has been washed away or if it’s too deep.’ But as I considered all the things that I needed to get accomplished 

and I just watched the Jeep drive through, I decided to try it.

Here's the 4x4 Jeep as it made it's way through the raging waters: )

So, with a crowd of people watching, I put our van in 1st gear and drove through- praying that we’d make it… and BAM! We did it: )

It felt so good to actually make it across and to be on our way as everyone else was left behind waiting for the water level to drop. 

Well, fast forward to Monday Night. It was raining (again) and we were on our way to the truck stop to try and use the internet. We drove down the wet-slippery mountain. Got onto the highway and drove a few kilometers through the falling rain to the place we needed to turn around to get to the truck stop. We exited the highway onto a dirt road, that ran under a bridge, that lead back to the truck stop. As we were turning under the bridge we came to an obstacle… another river had overflowed it’s banks and was totally covering the road under the bridge. 

I thought about it for a second and even though I knew the rule (never try to drive through moving water) I remembered that I had just done it successfully on the mountain just a week or so ago and it wasn't a problem. So, with the encouragement of my son (Matthew), I stepped on the gas and tried to plow through the moving water. 

I got 3/4 of the way through the river and then it happend- Bam! The water was too deep! It splashed-up over the hood and stalled out the van and left us in the water! What the heck!? I couldn't believe it. As I looked at MJ I could tell exactly what she was thinking too. Let’s just say, “she wasn't impressed.” haha! Anyway, we tried (to no avail) to get the van started but it wasn’t happening. We were sooooo close to making it out too.

There we sat. Waiting for the mechanic. Man, we were so close. We almost made it through: (

As we all sat there listening to the river as it rushed all around us I couldn't believe that this had happened. I mean, I know the rule- “don't ever try to drive across moving water!” Why didn’t I just follow the rule? I felt sooooo dumb.

So, we called the mechanic who works on our vehicles and even though it was almost night time (and it was raining)- he came and rescued us from the river and got us running again: ) 

Yesterday, as I was thinking about the whole fiasco, something popped into my head. I wasn’t trying to ‘spiritualize' the situation but it occurred to me that this was a perfect analogy of what sin does in our lives. We know we shouldn't do it (whatever ‘it' is). But just because we’ve gotten away with it in the past- we think that we can continue to do it and get away with it now. But just like driving across the river a few weeks ago was successful- I did it again and this time it wasn’t. The rule is ‘never drive through moving water on a road’ - ever, period. And because I didn't follow the rule, I paid the consequences. 

It’s the same with allowing sin to remained un-checked in our lives. God says it’s not beneficial for us and that it will destroy us. But a lot of times we think that just because God’s not zapping us or that we’re still able to operate and function in our gift- that it’s God’s stamp of approval on us or that He’s not that concerned with our disobedience (by continuing in sin), but we’re wrong! God doesn't wink at our sin and if we keep ‘driving across the road with moving water on it’- it’s gonna eventually get us!

So, we need to repent and get rid of it- and not continue doing it just because we don't see the destruction yet. 

I really believe that someone needs to hear this today. God says to repent (aka- stop, turn back and change direction) before it’s too late. Don’t think that you're gonna be able to continue without it eventually costing you something. He loves you and He wants what’s best for you so why risk it any longer? Definitely something to think about.

..."be sure your sins will find you out."

                                 Numbers 32:23

Love Ya,

Jim