By His Strength Alone

The three groped around the dark cave in search of an exit, knowing it was still far away.

“I knew it,” Amanda said in a whisper, hissing out every word to emphasize her anger.

“Knew what?” Toni asked by her side.

“The guide is daft. He doesn’t know the way here. He looked daft from the beginning, and this is proof.”

“Shhhh, before he hears you,” Toni said, embarrassed for Amanda.

“I should have known nothing the government builds endures. Why did I come on this trip?” Amanda said, almost wailing.

“Don’t worry. We will get out of here.”The guide said, his tone low.

“We will? You led us into a ditch, which became a cave, and you can still give words of encouragement? Unbelievable!” Amanda said, her voice rising.

“There is no need to get hysterical. By God’s grace, we will soon find the exit.” The guide said.

Amanda laughed; she wasn’t having fun. “Hysterical? Who are you calling hysterical?”

Toni stopped Amanda, holding her hand. “Mandy, stop, and breathe.”

Amanda shrugged off the hand, holding hers. “Did you hear what he called me? Do you agree with him? He got us into this mess and can’t get us out, and he calls me names?”

Through all this, the cave appeared darker, and there was still no way out.

“Mandy, God is with us.”

Amanda didn’t say anything. She kept walking and holding on to the damp walls of the cave.

“Why is this cave so damp?” She asked nobody in particular.

The guide coughed. “Can you both swim?”

“We are scuba divers. Why?”Toni asked.

“Just in case.” He said

Amanda let out her no-fun laugh again. “Just in case of what? You better tell us now, or when we get out of here, my father will sue you and the government for this atrocity.”

Toni tried to reach the man and when she touched his body, tapped him twice to get his attention. “Sir, is there anything we should know?”

He sighed.”We heard rumors of this cave. Nobody has been in it since the government constructed the park because it closed it off to visitors. I listened to older guides say water from the waterfalls rushes through it into a nearby stream.”

“What!”Amanda said, screaming.

“Amanda!” Toni said, fear rearing its ugly head in her as well.

“Sir, if that’s so, how can we swim out of a flooded cave?” Toni asked.

“Ask him,” Amanda said.

“They say the length of the cave is short, so I’m hoping the force of the water will carry us out of the cave fast and into the stream. We must pray and believe in God. Are you Christians?”

“Yes,” Toni said.

“Is that your answer to this situation? Shouldn’t we be looking for a way to dodge the water? Since it flows into a stream, it means there is an exit. All we need to do is hold on to the walls of the cave until the water passes, hoping it won’t take long.” Amanda said.

The man scoffed. “Young lady, have you ever been in any storm: wind, water, hail, even rain?”

Amanda didn’t respond.

“If you have, you would know you cannot escape the pull of nature. The water will pull you into it, and off you’ll go. So yes, my answer is prayer.”

Toni reached for Amanda and drew her into a hug. “Mandy, God is with us, remember? Think about it, if God has destined for us to die today, what would stop it? If he hasn’t so planned our lives, then we must have faith and give thanks. You asked last week how a major spiritual battle would be? Well, we are in one. The battle is going on in us, more than on the outside. We have to believe God knows about this, and He has made way for us through it. Yes, we don’t know the way, but we have a Father who does, and by faith, we are following Him, not our fears.”

Amanda disengaged from the embrace and bent her head. No one saw the tears that fell from her eyes as she considered the truth of Toni’s words. Amanda realized that amid a storm, she had manifested Amanda instead of Christ. She was complaining, insulting others, and not considering their feelings, all out of fear. Christ would have given thanks to God and walked on water. He would have understood that falling into the ditch was not the guide’s fault and worked with him and Toni through their ordeal.

“I’m sorry, sir. I was overwhelmed by the fall and reacted.” She said.

“No problem, it happens to the best of us.” He replied as she wiped her tears.

Amanda took the next step, and they all heard the sound. The roar of gushing water, slapping the cave walls, and coming towards them.

“Link your hands together, and try not to let go. Remember, God is on top of this situation, and the water’s main assignment is to carry us out, not to kill us.”The guide said, shouting.

Amanda turned to ask a question and was swept off her feet by water. She perceived its odor before she felt it. The water force disengaged her hand from Toni’s, and at once, she concentrated on not breathing. She yielded to the furious flow of the water and tried to keep her mind clear.

Two minutes later, Amanda gave up hope, her lungs about to burst, when the water thrust her out of the cave. She felt the warmth of the sun and smelled fresh air as she descended, gulping air into her system. Amanda opened her eyes to see where she was falling into and hit the water, resuming under-water mode. On her way down, she heard a splash. Someone else had dropped into the water with her.

Twenty seconds later, Amanda fought the pull of nature and swam up to the surface. She was tired, and her arms ached, but she swam with all her might and burst through, shouting. The guide was there and seemed to be looking around for them.

“Toni, Toni,” Amanda said, shouting.

Toni burst through the surface as well, shouting too. Amanda cried when she saw her friend; she couldn’t help it. They swam towards each other and hugged, crying together, and thanking God.

“We don’t know when more water will burst through the opening, let’s leave this place.” The guide said.

Amanda nodded, and they all swam to the water’s edge. They could see the park and the buildings surrounding it from there. They stepped out of the water as it burst through the cave’s exit and into the stream again.

“Our Father did it, Amanda,” Toni said.

Amanda nodded, looking up.”Yes, I don’t know how, and I don’t deserve it, but our Father did it.”

Till next time, be transformed!!!