I lean my head back, spread out my arms and legs and allow the water to softly suspend me on the surface. I’m not swimming, forcing forward motion, or treading water, barely keeping my head above water.  I’m floating: free to rest, be still and simply be. 

I welcome the weightlessness and wonder why I don’t float more often. Floating, in the water and out in the world, both takes faith and renews my faith.  And I’m beginning to believe faith is a float.

Faith to Float 

Faith starts in a float. After all, our world was born from a float. 

In the beginning our world was empty and had no form apart from a darkness that covered an ocean.
“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”-Genesis 1:2 ESV

God suspended over the world.  He waited for the perfect time for power to flow out of him, never forcing creation into being.  God was floating.

 Our stories begin the same way.  Each chapter in our stories begins full of potential. Our human nature causes us to wiggle with impatience and squirm to swim. We want to lift our heads to see ahead to the future. But if we paddle too hard we lose our balance and sink. 

We need to float and wait for God to create our lives.

In the water, we must fight the urge to swim and trust that the water will hold us up in a float. In life, we must fight the urge to control and plan on our own and trust God will hold up our lives. Once we settle into a float, our souls can be flooded with refreshing water. 

Faith is a Float 

Over and over, God has placed his people in a float of faith. 

The book of Hebrews has a chapter dedicated to sharing the stories of faithful men and women- and almost all of them were in some kind of a float.  Noah literally floated in the ark, and so did Moses as a baby in a basket; the rest floated figuratively in the desert, in exile and various states of waiting and trusting. (Hebrews 11:1-40) Faith inspired each of these people to step out and do the impossible, knowing they would be guided by God.

 Another man who loved God stepped out in faith, out of a boat, onto the water. The day the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water towards their boat, Peter asked if Jesus would invite him into the sea. The sea was mysterious and dangerous, and walking upon it defied logic, but Peter knew each step would be one step closer to Jesus. He stepped out with faith but soon began to sink.  

“Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” -Matthew 14:31 ESV

I don’t think Jesus was chastising Peter, shaming him for not being more spiritually mature.  Instead, he said, oh, you have little faith now, but you are full of potential. 

We are all like Peter with budding faith. We start to sink when we get scared or we have doubts. But faith is not devoid of doubts. In fact, doubts are an important part of faith. 

Water, in which we should quickly sink, is the very thing that keeps us afloat. We could fight the water, thrashing and splashing, or we can relax and float in the water. Doubt, in which we should quickly sink, is the very thing that buoys our faith. We could fight our doubts, debating and challenging, or we accept the mysteries of God.  Doubts give us an opportunity to break down our faith, examine the foundation, and rebuild our faith stronger.  In a float, God will renew our faith. 

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” -1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

We may be tempted to discredit the power of faith, but God will guide us to float through the doubts. We should be wary of any faith discussions, especially those declared to dispel doubts, that seek to make waves- because faith is a float. 

God graciously gives us the opportunity to float. With the gift of floating, we don’t have to force direction and determination, muscle through the water or muster our own strength to face each day. 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” -Ephesians 2:8 ESV

May we float daily, floating by grace through faith.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grace is a writer based in coastal Georgia. She invites readers to explore and wonder about the goodness of God and make their own faith discoveries. Her husband and cats cheer her on, swimming is her escape and cheese is her fuel.