Once upon a time I almost drowned in a very deep lake in Michigan. I had misjudged the distance to a buoy far away and swam too fast until I was exhausted. Right then a spirit of fear hit me like I had never experienced before. But thanks to the grace and wisdom of God, I decided to just simply tread water until I got my strength back. Now with my wits back in place I reversed my course and slowly swam the backstroke until I arrived back at my starting point. There’s multiple lessons to be learned from that frightening life experience; the obvious one being there was only one way to prevent drowning….just keep swimming. Keep that in mind as you digest these paragraphs.

A well known Christmas song begins, “I wonder as I wander…That’s how I feel these days. I take power walks each week and find myself thinking about every aspect of life - both good and bad, happy and sad, rewards and challenges, etc. I can imagine as many of you read this you are most likely in the same “brainwave boat” as me. The mega-thought wheel of subjects that occupy my 3 mile, 45 minute weekly jaunt usually goes like this;

God…how is my relationship with Him? Am I growing or am I stagnate? Is my Biblical world view the same as it was 10 years ago? Am I the son He wants me to be as I lead His people in worship around the world? Am I representing Him as well as I could or should be?

Marriage…Liz and I are soon to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. What areas do we need to address in making our relationship better? Where am I missing the mark and what can I do to be a better husband? What do I need from her that I’m not getting, if anything? How can our love grow over the next 14 years?

Politics…we here in America are on the cusp of another presidential election along with the determining of important senate and representative seats. The country is basically divided right down the middle and whatever the outcome on November 5th, there is sure to be bedlam that follows. Many of us feel our democracy and freedom slipping through our fingers like sand. What is to become of this land?

Ministry…At this writing, Sing Over America just finished it’s third go around. Summary - It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The outpouring of God’s presence was rich and satisfying as we lifted up the name of Jesus over our land in song and prayer. We had to close registration for the October event way back in early June because we already had 600 registrants in a building that can squeeze in 550 seats. We were flying high! That’s the best of times. Then the event started. Roughly 425 of the 600 registered from 29 states never showed. Experts tell us that for a free event to look for 10-20% no shows. I was prepared for that. But when 71% of those promising to come stayed home instead, it really rocked my nice and neat little world in a big way. In some ways it was quite humbling, if not humiliating. I’ve had numerous dreams in my life where I walk into a practically empty concert hall. The just completed experience resembled those cold sweat nightmares. That would be your worst of times scenario. Then, after it was all over and we were considerably below budget, a large gift came in from a friend of the ministry and suddenly we were in a surplus place once again. (Is this where I’m supposed to say go figure out God? (Because I CAN’T!) Then there’s the traveling ministry of 2025 to consider. Where are we going? When are we going? How many international stops? How will we pay for it? What about An Hour With Jesus in the coming year? How many extra shows do I need to record when we are away from home so the global worship church can continue to meet each week? And is it time to record a new album, which would take upwards of 9 months to accomplish? Studio project or a live service somewhere? Head spinning stuff.

Family…I miss my 3 sons, my 3 daughters-in-love and my precious 11 grandchildren…everyday. Must plan on seeing them over the holidays. Next May will mark my 70th year on the planet and they are all converging on Dallas to spend 4 days with us to make my birthday special. What this means for me is endless planning. What daily activities will interest the whole gang of 19? What family chats and/or games will I initiate each night around the large rented living room? What about food for that many people each day? Who’s going to help Liz with that? It’s an exhausting but exciting time, except for the getting older part. (I still think I’m 45.) Finally, this year has been particularly hard for me because of the sudden passing of my former wife, Greta. A myriad of thoughts flood my troubled mind when I take time to process all that relationship meant along with no longer being able to communicate with the mother of my children. These are deep waters.

Questions….so many questions that go through a man’s mind, almost everyday, especially during power walks. I wonder as I wander. So, my worshiping friends, in all of these things, one thing is necessary. Whether situations are great or terrible, whether you find yourself on top of the world or under the rock of Gibraltar, whether we are happily happy or sadly sad, we must, as Dory reminds us in Finding Nemo, just keep swimming. When things don’t go like we planned, when relationships with friends go south, when a loved one is gone from this earth, when the checkbook balance looks scary, when your political candidate loses, when your pastor says something from the pulpit that doesn’t fit your theology, when you see horrible injustice via the news media or other outlet, when a loved one hurts you with their words, when the job you knew you were going to get goes to a less deserving person, when the sold out event you are sponsoring has hundreds of no-shows, when the person you most trusted lets you down, when nothing in life is going right for you…………….just keep swimming. Because, although life isn’t always fair, God is always good. He has a way of turning things around. I’ve seen it a thousand times. Good ol’ Romans 8:28 is right there at the ready…”for we KNOW that God causes ALL things to work together for GOOD to them that Love God and are called according to His purpose.”

Many years ago Dr. Cho from Soul, South Korea was asked what he does when he prays for a person in the prayer line and they don’t get healed. His reply, “I go to the next person.” In other words, “I just keep swimming.” Knowing he is not the healer gives him the peace to just do what he does and let God be the final decider. I like that philosophy. The longer I serve in worship ministry, the more comfortable I am getting with “just worshiping” and realizing I cannot make the people respond in a certain way. That’s up to the Holy Spirit. If they are not coming along with me and the service is a dud in my opinion, I need to just keep swimming. God will take care of His people. Sometimes the enemy of our soul will do his best to knock us down or even try to take us out, but….just keep swimming because he is a defeated foe, always and forever. Don’t give up, don’t give in, just keep swimming, and remember, we’re nearing the shore and if need be God will even toss you a lifeline. Think on these things.