Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. Judges 16: 20
This verse reveals problem we can face too if we allow ourselves to float in our Christianity. First, Samson assumed that he could simply do as he did before as if God had nothing to do with all of the successes he had previously had. We too can get to a point of complacency where we feel that somehow it was under our own ability that we have achieved so much. I don't have to pray as much as I did before. I don't have to read the Word as much as I did before. Then we try to flex our spiritual muscles and find ourselves without the power of God that we once had. Samson did not even realize that the Lord had left him! If we are not careful the same fate can await us. We become the center of our walk instead of God. Our accolades or our success becomes the focal point instead of Almighty God through whom all good things come.
Because the truth is that floating is an illusion. It feels safe but it is not. When we swim, all muscles are being worked at once and in unison. When we pursue the things of God all of our spiritual muscles are likewise worked at once and in unison. Theoretically, one can float continuously. There is no scientific reason why a floater might sink. But what happens inevitably is that the floater ingests water, a little bit at a time. The water fills the lungs at some point and the person will indeed start to sink. When we float along the water line between the things of God and the things of this world, we start to ingest the things of this world, a little bit at a time. We start to compromise, a little bit at a time. We see our good habits falter a little bit at a time. We are not consciously diving down into the world but are allowing the world to enter us, a little bit at a time. You cannot float and expect to not get wet.
God wants us swimming beloved. He wants us actively pursuing Him at all costs. There are benefits to swimming over floating. The swimmer dictates the direction and pace. The floater drifts where the water will take him. More often than not the floater drifts into areas he should not be going. Areas of the past that haunt him. Areas of the future that scare him. But the swimmer cuts through those areas. The swimmer is directed by God. He goes in the direction God wants him to go in and we can always trust the direction God gives us:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
The swimmer is following God's direction. The current of life can be strong beloved. It can seem insurmountable. The waves can seem to be about to crash over your head but God has already promised:
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. Isaiah 43: 2a (NLT)
The swimmer is actively engaged. They are not complacent. They are forward moving. They are seeking the next level God has for them. The Bible promises us that if we persist, we will be rewarded:
