That Sinking Feeling
Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God. – Psalm 69:1-3
Many of us have had that sinking feeling when everything is going wrong and is out of control. How did we get to that place in our lives? Maybe we got to that place of sinking, and being out of control, through ignoring the warnings of God and others in our lives.
Hank Schiffer in Boca Raton knows what that sinking feeling is like. A street in Boca Raton was washed out because of a broken water main and the danger was marked by high-water warning signs. Hank saw the signs, but thought that he could drive through the water anyway. What Hank did not know was that the water was covering a sinkhole as deep as his van was in height. Schiffer said after his ordeal, “I was just going around the water. People were telling me not to go through the high water, but I just ignored what they were saying. I guess that was wrong.” Well, Hank, I think it was the wrong thing to do! Schiffer and his two dogs did somehow get out of the van before it completely sank.
It is sad, but many who are sinking spiritually are not even aware of their plight. Many of those who are aware are so calloused that they continue to do nothing to slow their downward spiral. To get out of the mire we must want to get out. It is a decision of the heart to hear the warnings, and have a desire to stop the downward progress. We must arrive at a point where we know our only hope is in the Lord and call out to God as did the Psalmist, “Save me, O God!”
Are you tired of that sinking feeling? Ask the One to help who can help. One man I knew who was an alcoholic simply had a one-sentence prayer about as short as that of the Psalmist. He prayed over and over again, “Help me stop, God.” It took eight months, but God delivered him from his addiction. He can deliver you as well from whatever you are sinking in. Ask Him!
(Many of us have had that sinking feeling when everything is going wrong and is out of control. How did we get to that place in our lives?)