Rejoice in the Flood!

"He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him"  (Ps. 66:6).

It is a striking assertion, "through the floods" (the place where we might have expected nothing but trembling and terror, anguish and dismay) "there," says the Psalmist, "did we rejoice in him!"

How many there are who can endorse this as their experience: that "there," in their very seasons of distress and sadness, they have been enabled, as they never did before, to triumph and rejoice.

How near their God in covenant is brought! How brightly shine His promises! In the day of our prosperity we cannot see the brilliancy of these. Like the sun at noon, hiding out the stars from sight, they are indiscernible; but when night overtakes, the deep, dark night of sorrow, out come these clustering stars--blessed constellations of Bible hope and promise of consolation.

Like Jacob at Jabbok, it is when our earthly sun goes down that the Divine Angel comes forth, and we wrestle with Him and prevail.

It was at night, "in the evening," Aaron lit the sanctuary lamps. It is in the night of trouble the brightest lamps of the believer are often kindled.

It was in his loneliness and exile John had the glorious vision of his Redeemer. There is many a Patmos still in the world, whose brightest remembrances are those of God's presence and upholding grace and love in solitude and sadness.

How many pilgrims, still passing through these Red Seas and Jordans of earthly affliction, will be enabled in the retrospect of eternity to say--full of the memories of God's great goodness--"We went through the flood on foot, there--there, in these dark experiences, with the surging waves on every side, deep calling to deep, Jordan, as when Israel crossed it, in 'the time of the overflowing' (flood), yet, 'there did we rejoice in Him!'"  --Dr. Macduff

"And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the door of trouble for a door of hope: and she shall sing THERE" (Hosea 2:15).
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He turned the sea into dry [land]: they went through the flood on foot: there we rejoiced in him. (Ps. 66:6, WEB)

"There we rejoiced in Him"; there in the midst of the flood, they rejoiced. They did not wait until their journey was complete, they did not wait until the victory I had been completely won. They rejoiced there as they traveled through the flood.

How many of us can proclaim rejoicing in our pain? How many can "there we rejoiced" in reference to their valley experience?

Faith is prospective, it has a way of bringing joy and praise to the forefront in the most difficult of times simply because it believes God for the victory. Faith looks and sees beyond the moment; not with human eyes, but with spiritual sight. Faith claims the promises of God amidst delay, disappointment, danger and devastation. Faith declares that what God has promised, He is able to perform.

It seems to the unconverted heart a very foolish thing to rejoice in the midst of trouble. The unconverted heart would consider that such behavior is a sign of classic denial; however, to the heart of the believer, it is a sign that their faith is solidified.

It would seem to me that when I have found myself in the flood I have been able to sense God's presence more distinctly. As the pressures of life's trials began to press down upon you, your reaching out to God draws Him nearer to you (Jam. 4:8).

God does His greatest work in us when we are against the wall and pressed by trouble. Trouble pushes us to our limits  and forces us to examine and acknowledge the reality that we cannot walk this ethereal journey of Christianity in our own power. It is then that we find that God's grace is sufficient for us. There is something spectacular about the sufficiency of God's grace. There is no depth of sorrow in which God's grace cannot sustain. There is no gross darkness in which God's grace cannot hold you steady. There is no valley of loneliness in which the Grace of God cannot keep you.

Whether it be Paul in the Roman Prison on John exiled to the Isle of Patmos, God's grace remained sufficient. I encourage you to rejoice as you travel through the flood. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

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Be sure to follow my series on emotional healing.