Living in a country with so much water, I’m sure you’re all well aware that drowning doesn’t look like someone flailing in the water as is often portrayed on the TV. It’s a silent event. The individual is often too busy trying to breathe, trying to stay afloat, to be able to call out for help.

Hebrews 6 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie and that therefore, His promise is unchangeable. Verses 18-20 in the Message translation say:

We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

There are times in our lives where we might feel like we’re drowning. Drowning in pressure. Drowning in our finances. Drowning in relationships. Drowning in anxiety or depression. Drowning in keeping up appearances. Drowning in exhaustion or failing health. Drowning in temptation. Drowning in the demands of life. Drowning in the unknown. But on the surface, it doesn’t ‘look’ like we’re drowning. We’re still holding it all together, smiling the smiles and saying the ‘right things’ when people ask how we are. We’re too busy trying to stay afloat, trying to breathe, to be able to admit to and deal with the real issue that’s going on. We’re drowning.

We have an unbreakable spiritual lifeline and just like a lifebelt is thrown to someone who is drowning to keep them above the water, so too, we are thrown a lifebelt that can reach past all appearances right to the very presence of God. God has made many promises for you to grab hold of when it feels like you’re drowning – I am with you. Always. I will never forsake you. I love you with an everlasting love. I know you by name. I know everything about you. I chose you. I will meet your needs. I am not counting your sins. Nothing can separate you from my love…

And the thing about the last part of this verse is that you’re not grabbing it on your own. Jesus has gone ahead. Jesus is right there, with the Father, praying for you, watching you in the order of Melchizedek – the king of righteousness and the king of peace…

If you feel like you’re drowning (and even if you don’t feel like it!), Jesus is your lifeline, He is the sum and completion of all those promises. He’s your lifebelt. He’s your righteousness and your peace in whatever situation you find yourself in. “Grab hold of him with both hands and never let go.”