He Paddles Alongside Us

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
"All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of His healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too."

I was in sixth grade when my friend and I were entrusted with a paddle, a canoe, and our belongings. With little training (one hour at Crooked Lake), we were set afloat in the current of the Kettle River. We were less than novice canoers. Is there a level lower than this? How about greenhorn or tenderfoot canoers. Skill? We had none. Fear? We had much! Experience? One hour in a lake.

Did you know that canoeing in a lake is radically different than canoeing in a river? We didn't. We figured that canoeing was canoeing no matter where you did it. We couldn't have been more wrong about this. Also, did you know that there is a class system for rivers? Apparently some rivers feel they're better than others and so they've assigned themselves classes to differentiate between upper and lower class rivers. For example, the Mighty Mississippi is mostly a class 1 river. It's lazy, it winds about, meandering through the countryside. Then you have a river like the Colorado River which is often a class 5 river. Major whitewater and rapids. Prepare for certain death unless you're well-trained or with a guide. Novice is not a word you want to hear in conjunction with a class 5 river. Novice = death.

The Kettle River, depending upon the level of the water, ranged from class 1 to class 4, depending upon where you were and when you were. Well, dear friends, we were there in the middle of the scorching summer heat. Water level is low. Rocks are exposed. Current is swift. And 6th graders are clueless and petrified.

We also thought that it would be a good idea to pick the coolest canoe we could find. We didn't want any of the boring aluminum canoes. Certainly not! Especially when there was a cool fiberglass canoe which was a replica of an old Native American canoe, complete with the high bow and stern.

Here's a question for you nautical types: what happens when you combine wind with a large, flat surface area? That's right! You get a sail. And because of the high bow and stern on our canoe, we had a lot of surface area. So, when the wind kicked up, there was a problem.

I was in the canoe with my friend, Burt. As I said, we were hormonally challenged greenhorn canoers. We didn't know the difference between an oar and a paddle (look it up). We got into the river with our canoe without tipping it over. This was a feat in and of itself, considering we weren't thinking at all of canoeing. We were discussing the lasses from our classes. The day was sunny. Life was good. It was a Pez moment. We were doing just fine.

And then came the wind. You see, we didn't really understand the fine art of steering a canoe. Also, our scrawny twelve year old arms weren't able to push all that hard in the wind. We went from fine to "Oh dear God, somebody help us!" in a matter of minutes. We had no control over our canoe. We were literally spinning in circles as we went down the river. Older boys went by us laughing. We were beginning to get scared. And then we did get scared. We began to hear something. It sounded much like a train coming in the distance. White noise with some thunder mixed in.

The sound of river rapids approaching. We began in the class 1 part of the river. We were rapidly approaching the class 4 part. "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!" Traveling sideways rapidly approaching rapids is not a place you ever want to find yourself. We safely made it through the first fifty yards with just a few bumps and scrapes along the bottom of the canoe. However, the five foot drop was yet to come. We were still headed sideways. Large rocks are everywhere. Water is coursing through the rock maze, sloshing about in a wild thunderous fray. Our canoe turned slightly so we were at least going diagonally and we hit a monster rock. The speed of the current propelled us on top of the rock. Our canoe was dangerously close to tipping over and we were absolutely stuck. Our scrawny arms weren't able to do a thing. We used our paddle to try and push us off the rock, but it was no good.

And then we saw him. Our old Scoutmaster, Don McGrath. Very calmly he paddled through the wild current. His face was calm. There was even a hint of a smile there. Burt and I looked at each other and realized neither of us had breathed in a while and when we saw his face, our breathing began again. Don canoed right up alongside us. He then attached his canoe to ours and jumped out of his canoe. Sacrificing himself for us, he pushed us off the rock and then, while traveling through the rapids still, he was able to climb back into his canoe and tow us to safety. Don then had us separate and we split up and went with other people in their canoes.

Don came up alongside us and led us alongside others. Burt and I weren't able to really help anyone out in the canoeing area of life. But in other areas, we were there. I'd like to say that God used us mightily at that point to help others out. But that's just not the case. We were twelve, inexperienced, and rather selfish.

But this is exactly how God uses us in ministry. He comes up alongside us to rescue us. He did this through His Son Jesus, who came right up alongside each and everyone of us through His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection to rescue us from traveling sideways down the rapids of life. And then He led us to safety. And He led us alongside others who were also traveling sideways so that we could help them. God uses us to help each other. God uses us precisely because we have had hard times so we will be able to relate to others who are going through hard times.

God uses broken people to reach broken people. Because God Himself knows what it's like to be broken. He was broken for each of us upon the cross by the nails of our collective sins.

Are you traveling sideways down the river of life? Pray for God to send someone to rescue you. Chances are, you'll find someone there for you who was just as lost at one point in their lives. They're just as broken, just as confused. But they've been there before and they are there for you now.

Right now, is your canoe pointed relatively downstream and you're doin' okay? Well my friend, pray for God to use you today. Pray for God to open your eyes to others downstream from you who are spinning out of control. Pray that God will use you, yes you, my friend to paddle up alongside them to help them out.

It might be dangerous. It may require sacrifice. It may require pain.

But when you were lost and your canoe was spinning wildly out of control, wasn't it nice to have someone else risk their safety for yours? Didn't it feel good to be rescued? And in the moment, did you really consider the sacrifice which had been made on your behalf? It was dangerous for them. It required sacrifice. It may have even required pain. And yet someone was there for you. God brought them up alongside you.

It was dangerous for Jesus. It required the ultimate sacrifice. And it certainly required pain. God came up alongside us to rescue us from the raging torrent.

Today, He wants to use you to paddle up alongside someone else. In return for your sacrifice, you will receive the joy of having rescued someone. But you will also receive healing comfort promised in equal measure.

Scan the horizon of the part of the river of life you're traveling for people whose canoes are out of control. And remember the times when you've been in the same situation. Be WILD For Christ!

Pastor Shane