Do you ever feel like a fish out of water? It’s not a pretty sight. A gentle, graceful creature flapping and struggling against the hard earth. Some die on that shore, while others are suddenly saved by the incoming rush of water.
For the human creature, floundering most often comes when you’ve just completed a project and have yet to begin something new. It can also happen when you’ve had a mountain-top experience, spiritual or otherwise, and you find yourself back at work, facing a stack of bills, in a house full of kids or one that is empty.
A story comes to mind of a flounderer from the Bible. His name was Elijah. This prophet was seemingly invincible. He’d come face-to-face with over 800 prophets of Baal and Asherah and dared them to see whose god was the greatest. Elijah’s won. God came through big time. He even provided rain after a severe famine. It would have been a great time for Elijah to go on a book or speaking tour.
Instead, he ran at the first hint of trouble, and from a woman, no doubt. When Queen Jezebel threatened his life, Elijah took off running, landed under a tree and asked the Lord to take his life.
I’d say he floundered.
Two things happened. God told him to eat and then to wait for him to speak.
Mountain top experiences, big projects, and life changes can take your energy. You get zapped, and you don’t realize what’s happened, because the adrenaline has been flowing for so long. When you’re on the other side, you’re exhausted. You need to eat, to rest, to get healthy again.
You also need to take a break and listen to God. Don’t rush it. His voice won’t be in the wind, the earthquake or the fire; it will be in the gentle whisper. You can’t rush him either. He will speak, but you have to let him do it his way and in his time.
I’ve been floundering a bit lately, but God has reminded me that the water will soon rush on shore once again. I just need to save my energy and rest. He’ll restore.
What about you? Finding yourself beached and don’t know what to do? Don’t flounder. Stop, rest, and listen for his voice to pour over you like streams of living water once again.
Grace and Peace