Finding Hope When Life Pulls You Under
Growing up in Florida, every trip to the beach came with the same warning: "Watch out for rip currents!" These powerful channels of water can pull even strong swimmers far from shore in moments. Last summer in Panama City Beach, two young boys learned this firsthand when they grabbed their boogie boards for some late-afternoon fun. Within minutes, they found themselves over a hundred yards from shore, fighting desperately against a current they couldn't overcome. When others tried to help, they too became caught in the current's relentless pull.
Perhaps you feel like those boys right now – caught in the deep waters of life, desperately trying to make your way back to shore. Maybe it's the relentless demands of motherhood, leaving you feeling like you're constantly treading water. Perhaps it's financial pressure, health concerns, or broken relationships pulling you under. Or maybe you're experiencing what King David described in Psalm 69 – feeling overwhelmed by opposition, misunderstood, and isolated, even from family.
In these deep waters, David shows us how to cry out to God with persistence, patience, and praise. His experience offers hope for anyone feeling swept away by life's overwhelming currents.
Persistence: Keep Crying Out
When you're desperately trying to reach someone you love, what do you do? You call, text, leave voicemails, and message them on every platform available. In our desperation, we discover who we truly depend on by noting who we persistently pursue.
David's prayer in Psalm 69 reveals this kind of persistence: "Answer me! Deliver me! Don't hide your face! Come near! Hurry up!" He cried out so continuously that his voice grew hoarse and his eyes dim from watching for God's response. This wasn't a polite, one-time request – it was an ongoing cry of desperate dependence.
Too often, we send up a quick prayer to "keep God in the loop" while primarily relying on our own problem-solving abilities. We make spreadsheets, formulate plans, and work harder, treating God like a backup plan rather than our primary hope. But David shows us a better way – crying out to a personal, intimate God who knows our circumstances even better than we do.
Patience: Trust His Timing
Remarkably, in the midst of his desperate situation, David prays for God to answer "at an acceptable time." This seems counterintuitive – who asks a lifeguard to wait for "an acceptable time" when they're drowning? But David's patience springs from knowing who God is.
He uses two significant names for God in his prayer. First, he calls out to Yahweh – the personal, covenant-keeping God who is intimate with His people. Then he addresses Elohim – the Creator who formed the very waters he's drowning in. David knows he's not crying out to an impersonal force but to the God who created and controls every molecule in the universe – and who is on his side.
Praise: Remember His Character
Even while describing his desperate circumstances, David repeatedly declares God's "steadfast love," "saving faithfulness," and "abundant mercy." This isn't to remind God who He is, but to remind himself and us. When we're in deep waters, it's easy to lose sight of God's true character, viewing Him as distant or uncaring. But like David, we need to actively remember and declare who God is, even when – especially when – we don't feel it.
This praise transforms our perspective and even our struggles. The very waters threatening to overwhelm us can become an opportunity to worship as we declare God's faithfulness in the midst of them. As someone wisely said, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain."
The Ultimate Rescue
Those boys in Panama City Beach eventually made it back to shore, but not by swimming harder or following the right technique. Their rescue came through a young man who gathered a crowd to form a human chain stretching into the ocean, bringing them back one by one.
Similarly, our hope isn't in having the perfect prayer formula or finding the strength to overcome life's currents on our own. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, who entered the deadly waters of sin and death to rescue us. He was rejected as David was, falsely accused, cut off from His Father, and swallowed up by death – all so that we might be accepted, justified, adopted, and rescued from the wrath of God.
Because of Christ's work on the cross, we can cry out to God:
- With persistence, because we have access to the Father
- With patience, because the Creator of the universe is on our side
- With praise, because His steadfast love is secured for us through Christ
These aren't additional burdens to bear while you're trying to keep your head above water. They're gifts flowing from what Jesus has already accomplished. Whether you're currently drowning in life's deep waters or enjoying a season of calm, you can cry out to this God – not just once or twice, but continually. Not because you have the strength, but because you have a Savior. Not to earn His love, but because His love has already been poured out for you at the cross.
The waters may be deep, but our God is deeper still.
Join us this Sunday at Palm Vista Community Church as we learn together what it means to worship God in every season of life – whether we're basking in sunshine or caught in life's deep waters.
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