One of my favorite summer places is being at the lake and one of my favorite summer time activities is waterskiing. The Lord knows this about me, just as He knows some of your favorite things, for God uses these things to speak truths to us. Just as Jesus used parables that were understandable to the disciples and the crowds who followed Him, He uses parables in our lives. The Lord used waterskiing as a way to convey a truth to me yesterday, that I believe is for the body of Christ. If you have never been waterskiing, you may not understand completely what I am saying, but if you have been or have seen someone waterski, you will catch on quickly to what God is saying to us right now.

Waterskiing is a great sport, but just like riding a bike, it takes time to get used to the intricate details of how to get started. In order to waterski, you first my sit back in the water, like you are sitting in a chair. Your life jacket makes this easier to do, but with two ski’s that are much bigger than your feet, a tow rope and a life jacket, it does take some maneuvering to get the positioning correct. But once you are in a seated position, you bring the tips of your ski’s out of the water, for they must be above water or they will drag you down into the water. After getting your tips up, you grab the ski rope, which is attached to the boat and place it between your ski’s and hold on. The driver of the boat, will tighten the rope just slightly for it must be tight in order for you to get up. If the boat pulls you a little bit, it may cause you to tip to the right or to the left, but once you are seated securely, with tips up and rope between your ski’s you are ready to have the boat pull you out of the water.

Before I go any further, let me say this, many people are dressed for the days we are living in, many have their tips out of the water of the world and their issues, but their rope is not tight. The rope is the word of God. It is the plumb line, the prophet Amos spoke about, if the rope is not tight, you will not come out of the water. In order for the rope to become tight, we must hang on to the word of God with both hands. Jesus said it this way, “Keep both hands on the plow and don’t look back…” (Luke 9:62). As the Lord is tightening the rope, we may find ourselves a bit unstable, that is because He is tightening the rope, without a tight rope, we will not come up and out of where we are currently seated.

Once the rope is tight, tips are out and you are in the seated position, the only thing left to do is tell the boat driver to Hit It! This is when the boat driver accelerates rapidly, in order to get you up and out of the water and onto your ski’s so you can enjoy “walking on water”. The challenge many people face is that they either let go of the rope before they are pulled out and then sink back in or they try to pull themselves up and fall face forward into the water. In order to come up and out, you must let the boat do the work, all you have to do is hang on to the rope. Therefore, what the Lord is saying to us is, many are falling in their attempt to come up and out of their situation because they are either letting go of the rope (the word of God) or they are trying to pull themselves up, rather than letting the boat (who is God in this parable) pull them out.

Psalm 40:1-3 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him” (NIV).

As we wait in the resting position, with our tips out of the water, with the rope between our ski’s, tightened, then when we say Hit It! the Lord will lift us up and out, if we hold on, but don’t try and pull yourselves up and out, He has enough horsepower to pull us out of any situation we have got ourselves in. All we must do is hang on to His word and let His power pull us up and out. I don’t know what you stuck in and feel like you can’t get out of us, but your life jacket is your salvation, remember you are bought with a price; your ski’s are mercy and goodness; the rope is the Word of God; and the boat is the Holy Spirit with the Father as our driver. All you have to do is say, Hit It! and hang on, He’s got this, your coming up and out!