Where I live in the Northwest of the United States a vessel called a drift boat is used to navigate our rivers. It’s very popular with guides and fishermen. The flow of a river is used to move the drift boat downstream and the person manning the helm employs the use of two oars to direct the boat through the rapids.

When I asked the Lord what He wanted me to write this morning, I immediately saw the image of a drift boat approaching a set of treacherous rapids. It would require the utmost skill to navigate the approaching danger. At a critical point, as the boat began to enter a series of rapids, one of the oars broke.

Normally, this would spell disaster for those floating downriver, but the course of the drift boat was not affected. It remained steady and on course. Instead of a broken and useless oar, I saw the arm of the Lord extend into the water to replace the broken oar and maintain the drift boat’s course through the rapids.

Some of you are at the helm of a family, a ministry, or a business venture. Those traveling with you have been enjoying the ride and have no idea of what has just happened. A critical component has broken down at the worst possible moment. It’s important for your safety and the safety of those traveling with you for you to trust the Lord in a way you might not have needed to do in the past. There is no time to trust in a natural replacement to save the day.

The successful navigation of what you are about to enter is no longer up to you. Only the Lord can get you through what is coming because, by a natural assessment, your situation spells disaster. Your survival and the survival of those traveling with you are now in God’s faithful hands. He will make a way when no way seems possible. 

When you get through this series of rapids and come out on the other side, you will be given testimony of God’s merciful intervention.  Your testimony will help others who are beginning to enter their own fearful stretch of personal rapids where they will face a challenge similar to yours. Your testimony will replace their fear with hope – a hope that tells them no fearful passage is ever a lost cause when the Lord is involved.