WHEN GOOD ADVICE ISN'T ENOUGH

I can remember this one specific day at a lake with my cousin when I was about eleven years old, and not yet a very good swimmer. My cousin, Eddie was at least two years older than I was, and a much better swimmer than I. He wanted me to swim across this certain part of the lake which was at least a field length wide. My first response to him was that I couldn't swim that far, but he already knew that, and was willing to swim next to me. Now, like I already said, I wasn't a good swimmer back then. In fact, I couldn't swim at all, unless you call the doggy paddle swimming.

Anyway, my cousin and I dove into the lake and began to swim to the other side. I was doing pretty good at first, but it didn't take long for Eddie to pull ahead of me. I tried to keep up to him, but I simply couldn't. After all, like I said, he was two years older than me, and a much better swimmer.

Just as I went on my back to catch my breath, a wave splashed over my face and I took in a mouthful of water. Try to picture this, if you will; there I was, halfway across, tired, breathing hard, and then I suddenly took in a big gulp of water. It wasn't a pretty sight let me tell you!

I of course began to choke, and wasn't able to catch my breath.Things began to look grim for me. I began to realize that I was in trouble, and I felt hopeless. Even though I was choking, I tried to yell for my cousin Eddie, but he either thought I was joking, or couldn't hear me because he was so far away. The fact of the matter was, I was sinking real fast when Eddie did finally reach me.

Eddie told me later that he had stopped and looked behind to see where I was. When he couldn't see me, he freaked and quickly swam back to look for me. When he reached me, I was already under the water. Thank goodness that Eddie was in great shape. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up so I could breath. He basically saved my life that day. With his help I made it back to the shore.

What's my point of this story? Well, sometimes we need someone stronger, or in a greater position of authority to help us in our time of need, and when you're drowning in the circumstances of life, you don't need good advice, you need a saviour! Could you imagine how things would of turned out if my cousin, instead of coming back to rescue me just yelled out," Swim over this way!", "Swim harder!", " Keep your head above water!", I would of drowned that day, and probably wouldn't be telling you this story. But, even though the advice would of been well intended, it would of nonetheless been futile to anyone in a situation like mine on that unforgettable day.

Some of you might feel like you're drowning in your own personal lake, and it seems like no one can hear your cry for help. You fight with every ounce to survive, but you feel choked by you circumstances, and you're not able to breath. You're tired and stressed right out, you're hoping someone will throw you a lifeline. The last thing you need to hear is good advice. You have all the good advice you can take. You need a saviour!

That day will always be unforgettable to me, because I learned a valuable lesson at that lake. There are times we all need a saviour, not just good advice, however great the intentions may be. So, I might not know what's going on in your life right now, but I know one thing, there are times in this life when Gad has to come down out of heaven for you or it's all over. I'm not just talking about the daily struggles we go through, but rather those impossible situations in which only God Himself can save us from. He did this by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and overcame our greatest enemy...death!

Thereby, Jesus's victory over death is the perfect example for how God handles the fiery trials of our live today. This has to be good news to anyone of us who is at the end of our rope, hanging on for dear life. If you are in need of more than just good advice, ask Jesus to save you, and know this for certain, nothing will stop him from saving you as long as you are willing to receive Him!