If We Faint Not

By Paul Chappell

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."

Galatians 6:9-10

Frances Chadwick was one of the great open water swimmers of all time. She was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in both directions, and she also broke the time records for making the long and difficult swim. In 1952, she set out to cover the twenty-six miles from Catalina Island to the coast of California.

After Chadwick had been swimming for about fifteen hours, she was surrounded by a thick fog and began to struggle. She told her mother, who was in one of the boats accompanying her on the trip, that she didn’t think she could make it. After struggling a little longer, she gave up. It wasn’t until after she got in the boat that she learned she had only been one mile from shore. The next day she told an interviewer: "I’m not excusing myself. But if I could have seen the land, I think I might have made it."

So many times we fall short of reaching our goals and doing what we should for God because we get discouraged and lose heart just before we would have seen the victory. We must not be impatient when we do not see results immediately. The fact that we have not yet received the promises of God does not mean that we will not—every promise of God is certain from the moment He made it, whether it has yet come to pass or not.

Two months after her failed attempt, Frances Chadwick was back in the water to again attempt the swim from Catalina to California. Again the fog set in after she had been swimming for hours, but this time instead of quitting, she pushed on and reached the shore.

Today's Rooted Principle:

No matter how much fog surrounds you today, stay in the water and keep swimming.