"Blinded By The Fog"

It was early morning July 4, 1952. Twenty-one miles west on Catalina Island a 34 year old woman entered the waters and began to swim toward California, determined to be the first woman to ever do this. Her name was Florence Chadwick. She previously owned the title of the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.

The water was numbing cold that morning and the fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats that followed her on this historic swim. The television media was there following her every stroke. Several times sharks came too close and they had to be shot to protect Florence in the water. The hours slowly moved along while she continued her quest. Fatigue had never been a problem for her but the bone-chilling water was having a great effect on her. Finally, after fifteen hours of swimming and all she endured, she asked to be pulled out of the water. She simply could not go on. Her mother and trainer, who were alongside in a boat, encouraged her to keep her focus because land was near. Florence looked toward the California coast and all she saw was a bank of fog. She tried to continue but at fifteen hours and fifty-five minutes, they pulled her onto the boat. A reporter asked her about quiting and she responded, "Look, I am not excusing myself! But if I could have just seen land, I might have made it!" When all the interviews were over and things cleared up, she realized she was less than one half mile from the shore. As she warmed, she realized it was not a fatigue factor, or even the cold, but the fog blocked her way and that was all she could see. The fog blinded her will, her reasoning and it was the first time ever she had quit. Two months later she swam this same channel, fog intact but this time she knew the land was there beyond the fog and made it!

I share this because that is like us. We look at what we see and allow the things seen to determine our moods and directions. We allow the "fog" to blind us to what lay ahead. Many claim they walk by faith but in reality, they fix the eyes of their hearts on their hurts, disappoints and attitudes of those around. Bad news comes to our ears and we allow that to control our day. Our goal is heaven. The Lord Jesus made every provision for us to be there. Our sins were taken away, His life was infused within us to give us newness and heaven is bent toward our salvation. What do we do? We look at the seen! Are we going to come up short because we allow the created to affect our thinking? Are we blinded by the fog? Listen to the word of God: "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him, who has endured such hostilities by sinners against Himself, so the you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Heb. 12:1-3)