I don’t like being wet.

Today, my family showed up to take me out for a little drive. Unfortunately it was raining! My son drove up with the car, but before they could open the door, I wandered out from under the covered porch, right into the rain. You can believe me when I say I wasn’t happy!

My wife recently had a water encounter with God, and although this is her story and not mine, it warrants telling.

My wife was talking to God as she was out walking the dog — yes, she went out in the rain! What was she thinking??? — Anyway, whenever she has a problem, she will talk to God about it on her walk with the dog. Usually this results in a few very timely Bible verses coming to her mind, but this day was different. This day, as she stilled her mind to listen for God’s voice, she saw in herself in a vast valley filled with tangled, thorny vines. As she fought against the vines, striving to move forward, staining to see; all she could see, feel and experience was the thorns digging into her skin from all sides, and the terror that was slowly starting to overtake her heart. Yes, this was a very accurate representation of the problems going on in her life, and she immediately recognized the connection. “Why are You showing me this,” she whispered. “What does it mean? Where ARE You?”

The response was more of an impression than anything else, but she knew she needed to just stop and listen. When she did, she noticed a slow but steady dripping sound, like hearing a leaking tap from a great distance.

“God,” she whispered, “Is that You?”

The terror was immediately overtaken with peace. God was present in that horrible valley, even if His presence was only a distant slow drip, and when a song of praise came to her mind, she began to sing: “Who else is worthy, there is no one, only You Jesus!”

The more she sang, the louder came the sound of dripping water. Then the slow drips became faster and faster, until my wife was sure she heard running water. “Who else is worthy! There is no one, only You Jesus! Who else is worthy!” The water came faster and faster until it was a raging river at her feet. She barely even noticed the entangled and thorny vines anymore, and she couldn’t stop herself from diving into that wild, foaming water. It sucked her under, but instead of responding in fear, she opened her throat and sang, there in the water, at the top of her lungs! “Only You Jesus!” The water didn’t drown her. Instead, she soaked it up like a dry and barren dessert.

It was some time before her head once again came above water, but when it did, she noticed that all of those horrible vines that had entrapped and entangled her were nothing but three tiny plants!

My wife didn’t want to get out of the water, but she did. And amazingly, she wasn’t even wet. Now THAT is the kind of water encounter to have!

I really love this little encounter my wife shared with me, because I, myself, find myself in the midst of terrible trials. Sometimes my dementia is so severe that it almost completely takes over, and there is almost nothing of the real me left. Even in the midst of something this severe, however, God is there. If we still our fear, we will hear Him, and if we start praising Him, that little “drip” of God turns into a raging river of His presence! And as we praise Him, the tangled vines of the trials seem to shrink back until we are overcome with Him instead!

The truth of the matter is, God is ALWAYS there. It is our problems that blind us to His presence. When we shift our thoughts and minds to Him, however, our problems seem to shrink into a place of less importance.

But this isn’t a new idea at all, is it? The prophet Habakkuk already had this one figured out! “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV)

Why not try this the next time you find yourself in trials?

Oh, and if it’s raining, don’t forget that I don’t want to go out!

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Founder, Answers2Prayer Ministries