“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
— Joshua 1:9
A few weeks ago, my husband and I were snuggled together on the couch watching the 2005 version of King Kong starring Naomi Watts on Netflix. If you know my story, you know the fact that my husband and I were doing anything together, much less snuggling on the couch watching a movie, is miraculous. About halfway through the movie, I had an AHA! moment. I used to be Naomi Watts! This realization came at the moment when the beautiful heroine had just escaped from Kong, and she was running as fast as she could to get as far away from him as she could. And she was succeeding! She was free! She was still running as fast as she could, but when she realized her freedom was near, she began smiling. Everything was looking good. She was on her own, and she was going to make it!
Then, suddenly, there were dinosaurs everywhere! They were trying to eat her, and she was very, very small. Everywhere she turned, there was a new dinosaur. Her running freedom was about to get her killed, and there was nowhere to turn, no one to save her. Her freedom and independence had lead her to sure death.
Then, out of nowhere, comes Kong! Without her knowing, he had stayed close by in case she needed him. He started fighting the dinosaurs who were trying to eat her. At first, she was terrified and didn’t want anything to do with the certain-death dinosaurs or the very powerful and scary Kong. She ran from them both. But everywhere she turned, she ended up near the jaws of some sharp-toothed, bloodthirsty monster. She slowly realized that only Kong could save her. She needed him.
Slowly she backed up, step by step, right into the arms of King Kong. And he looked down at her tenderly while she looked up at him, a little terrified, but resolved in her decision. Then King Kong destroyed everything that was trying to hurt her.
You get where I’m going, right? We are Ms. Watts, living without God, which leads to deadly dinosaurs. And King Kong is, well, God.
Now, I know it sounds silly, but it’s such a great analogy!
Before I turned around and trusted God, I was running for the dinosaurs. And the bloodthirsty dinosaurs I was facing because I ran for so long were embitterment, divorce, disillusionment and the destruction of my entire life and relationships. At the last minute, I gave up, turned around and realized that only God was fighting for me, and only God had the answer to the dinosaurs. God was scary. At first, I didn’t want him either. But without him was only death. So, slowly, I trusted him, and quickly he showed me his miraculous power. Doing what he asked me to do in trust of him wasn’t easy. In fact, it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life.
And now, because I put my trust in his miraculous power, I can snuggle on the couch with my husband and watch B movies with dead dinosaurs laying all around us.
Stop running toward certain death and put your life in God’s hands. He is always waiting and ready for you to trust in him.