One afternoon, my friends Gabsy and Karen and I were burning up under the scorching sun. The nearby lagoon beckoned us, so we got into a canoe and paddled out to where the swimming was good. We had great fun jumping out of the canoe into the cool water. We swam from one side of the lagoon to the other while one of us paddled the canoe alongside in case we needed to rest. After that challenge, we paddled back into the middle where a tall bamboo stick protruded out of the water. My friends decided to swim around the bamboo. I asked them if I could practice maneuvering the canoe around. “Awapa!” they responded. “Sure!” So I stood up in the back of the canoe Gogodala-style and started to paddle. I was able to move the canoe forward, but I couldn’t figure out how to turn it around to paddle back to my friends. I just kept going farther and farther away. Gabsy shouted instructions to me, telling me how to put the paddle in the water and then pull it toward me. Finally, I got the hang of it and slowly turned the canoe around.

Life is often this way, too. Some people may start out on the right path, but then they begin to do things their own way instead of God’s way. Soon they find they are drifting farther and farther away from Jesus, and they don’t know what to do. If this is you, look back at Jesus. Search out His will for you in the Bible, and surrender your will to Him. Ask him to give you the power to do it, and then believe with all your heart that He will.

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