Just Keep Swimming

Springtime in Oregon can be unpredictable at best. In one day’s time, you can experience rain, sun, wind, hail and snow – and as you all know full well… if you don’t like the weather, just wait a bit. It’ll change. While there are many things that are unpredictable about Oregon in the springtime, there are some definite certainties, at least on the west side... It will rain. A lot. People that don’t live in Oregon sometimes think we’re kidding about this… and all of you who live here know, that we most definitely are not. In fact, my first introduction to Oregon weather was the first NWW that I attended. I had come down to visit, and stayed in the Salem area for a week. It rained for 7 days straight. Never let up once. Coming from Spokane, I had never seen anything like it. I was surprised to learn that it had been raining before I got here, and continued after I left. Then when I moved down to Oregon I had the pleasure of working in it. As frustrating and miserable as that rain can be, particularly to work in, it is necessary, and ushers in another very predictable event.

Beginning in the middle of February, when the winter rains end and the spring rains begin in earnest, an event begins that sends many fishermen in Oregon and Washington over the edge. Their spouses begin to wonder what is wrong with them; they spend hundreds of dollars on specialized tackle, bait, and thousands of dollars in gas for the 3 month season. Once the dogwoods bloom, the word goes out. The fish are here. Year after year, decade after decade, when the Dogwood trees bloom – the fish have arrived in the Lower Columbia. Once that happens, the affliction reaches stage 2. Those afflicted call in sick, they take vacation – if their bosses won’t give them time off, they quit their jobs… and will spend from sunrise to sunset sitting in the pouring rain, wind, hail, snow and occasional sun trolling back and forth up and down the Columbia and Willamette rivers for their shot at a very special fish. You see, the flowering of the dogwood trees announces the arrival of the Spring Chinook. Spring Chinook, often affectionately referred to as “Springers” are the most sought after variety of Chinook in the Columbia. While not the biggest of the varieties, they are hands down the best tasting. Spring Chinook have a very high fat content, which gives them the extra energy to return to their natal streams, which for many are located as far inland as the tributaries of Idaho’s Salmon River, a incredible 1000 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Of those fish returning this year to the Columbia, their life story began during the late fall and early winter 3-5 years before, in the tributaries of the Columbia River. As they grew, the Fall and Winter rains increased the water levels and these small fry were quickly washed downstream, efficiently sweeping them past predators and other dangers. Over the tops of several hydroelectric dams, past cities and towns, past Otters, Birds, and other Fish… downstream they were flushed arriving in the Columbia River Estuary, where they spent the first year of their life growing larger and accustomed to the salt-water environment. Those that survived the journey downstream, now have a whole new series of problems to deal with. Predation thins the ranks even further, and those smolts that survive the mortality in the estuary leave the rivers of Oregon and spent the next 2-4 years of their life in the Pacific Ocean. Scientific data has shown that most of our fish travel as far north as the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska where they spend several years feeding on forage fish and growing larger in preparation for their return. Something inside of them triggers them to return within that 2-5 years, and using scent traces from the trip downstream years before, the now adults return to their home rivers to spawn. They’ve arrived… But their journey is nowhere near complete. In fact, the hardest journey of their lives has only just begun.

The life of a Chinook Salmon is short, and it is exceedingly difficult. It is a life of sheer survival. A life of endurance… Not unlike the life we have been called to lead in this faith. Turns out however, that while the fishermen in Oregon are chomping at the bit, we in the Churches of God are looking forward to another regular and predictable event that occurs in the Spring of the year, with the coming of the full moon. The Spring Holy Days. For the past seven days, we have been keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread as we are commanded in scripture. There is much preparation and focus that goes into these days, beginning well before the Passover with an intense self-examination, where we ask God to help us see our lives as he sees us, without the blinders… then the blunt force trauma that can be the recognition of our imperfection, and the need for Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, as an unblemished lamb, providing the blood needed to reconcile us with God. We then entered the Days of Unleavened Bread, and physically removed the leaven as we were instructed, going through the symbolism of how deeply ingrained sin is, how the smallest little crumbs can be found in the most random places, and that only with a thorough inspection and cleaning can you find it all.

Then some of the biggest lessons of all are learned during the week as you realize two very important things: 1) Rarely do you ever manage to get it all. 2) For some strange reason, everyone eats doughnuts during Days of Unleavened Bread. If we’re not careful, we find it difficult to maintain our leaven-free existence during these seven days, but even that is part of the point, and one of the primary lessons. That it is very easy for sin to creep into our lives when we least expect it. Even with the hyper vigilance of the Days of Unleavened Bread, it can pop into our life, and can be very difficult to eradicate completely. Yet, to that end we are called… This spiritual life is tough, and that bar is set incredibly high. Sometimes this time of year, it’s easy to become discouraged when we realize how far we have to go, and maybe we didn’t make the growth that we hoped for this year, or we had some difficult trials… we can feel like we’re never going to make it. Our spiritual life is a lot like the life of the Chinook Salmon. It’s tough. After spending all that time in the ocean getting ready for the trip, they return to their home river, and begin the uphill fight. Swimming against the current, they work their way upstream. The entire journey is wrought with danger, predators, fisherman and obstructions which all work to impede their forward progress.

Yet, we’ve all seen the nature videos on PBS… you know the one I’m talking about, the one with the huge waterfall with the big old Grizzly waiting right at the top of it. It’s almost symbolic… The fish don’t stop, they don’t sit and wait for him to leave, Salmon are undaunted by these challenges, they just keep doing what Salmon do best… Swimming. They just keep swimming. For those of you that enjoy titles, that is the title of today’s message. Just. Keep. Swimming. Salmon are one of the most incredible organisms in God’s creation. They are absolutely magnificent animals. Designed to perfection for the life they lead, their life cycle is unlike any other. There are very few organisms that travel as far and wide, to return to the EXACT location they were born. They are truly incredible creatures. In order to be successful and to reach their goal, Salmon must Prepare for the Journey, Focus on their Goal, and Endure all obstacles.

These are the same things we must do to reach our goal as well. Spiritually during these days, we are to: 1) Prepare 2) Focus 3) Endure I’d like to spend the remaining time we have today exploring these three concepts as they pertain to this time of year, and the spiritual lessons we can take away from the life of the Chinook Salmon. Prepare: Our spring Holy Day season began with much preparation. We spent a significant amount of time examining our lives – seeking out and searching for the places where we fall short – and then physically going through the symbolism of removing the sin from our lives in anticipation of spiritually doing the same. All of this is done in order to further prepare us for the spiritual journey ahead by showing us the parts of our life we need to focus on. When Israel was to leave Egypt the evening of the Passover, God gave them very specific instructions about the way they were to take the meal. Exodus 12, and we’ll see the instructions that Israel was given by God. In preparation for the journey out of Egypt. Exodus 12, and we’ll start in verse 8, coming into the middle of the account after the Passover was described.

Exodus 12:8 Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Exo 12:9 Eat not of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof. Exo 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. Exo 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is Jehovah's Passover. These are very specific instructions for the Israelites; they were to be dressed for travel – ready to go. Prior to this passage, we saw very specific instructions on the placement of the blood, the type of lamb to be slaughtered, this whole evening is all very planned out and full of symbolism. We’ll pop down to verse 14, and read through verse 17. Exo 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. Exo 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Exo 12:16 And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. Exo 12:17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. We see the instructions given by God for the Days of Unleavened Bread, and we can see two major instructions. 1) For Seven Days they were to eat Unleavened Bread. 2) They were to remove the leaven from their homes before the seven days began. We’ve done great over the years with the second of these instructions, and I think we have a good grasp on the importance of removing the leaven from our homes, and the sin from our lives, but there traditionally hasn’t been as much emphasis placed upon the first of these instructions. Eating Unleavened Bread Daily. You have to replace the sin with something. If we don’t replace the sin with something Godly, we run the risk of the sin coming right back in and roosting again.

Not to get too grisly here, but a word picture could be really helpful right now. How many of you have had a cavity? If you have a cavity in a tooth, a portion of the tooth that has decayed, you remove the decayed portion. However, that leaves a huge hole in your tooth, and if you don’t put something into that hole, bits of food and bacteria will get back in there and re-infect the tooth. So we put in a filling. We fill it up with something else. We’ve received instructions to not just remove sin from our lives, but to eat unleavened bread for seven days. In other words, we remove the leaven, and fill the gaps with unleavened bread. So what does the unleavened bread represent? 1 Corinthians 5. We’ll see the words of the Apostle Paul here, and his instruction to those in the church at Corinth. 1 Corinthians 5 and we’ll pick up the story in verse 7. Prior to this passage, Paul is admonishing the church to put one of their own out due to his sins of fornication. He cautions them, that don’t they know that a little leaven, leavens the whole lump. He goes on to tell them in verse 7 1Co 5:7 Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ: 1Co 5:8 wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The unleavened Bread is the antithesis of sin, so if sin is lawlessness, then unleavened bread is righteousness, righteous Godly actions. The embodiment of the spirit of God in our lives. Fruits of the Spirit. Christ’s sacrifice, and the giving of the Holy Spirit, enables us to keep the Feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, and avoid the old leaven. We have to fill the holes and gaps we’ve made in the removal of the sin from our lives with the very mind and spirit of God in order to plug the gaps and keep the sin from returning. That is the very essence of these days. Getting rid of the sin, and putting on the mind of Christ. How have we used these days? Have we used them to prepare ourselves? Have we used them to grow spiritually? To spiritually fatten ourselves up for the journey? It’s important for us to recognize that when Spring Chinook return to their home rivers and arrive in the estuaries, to readjust to freshwater, they are fully prepared for the journey they’re about to undertake. They have spent the last 2-3 years consuming food and putting on muscle and fat stores that will be utilized completely to make it home. This isn’t a two way trip. This journey will kill the fish. One way or the other. It either makes it to its natal stream to spawn, or is killed along the way, but one way or another, the Salmon’s life is over.

As a result, they aren’t holding anything back as their journey progresses. Every last ounce of energy that they have packed on in the preparation stages go to the journey ahead. If they arrive to head back upriver, and haven’t adequately prepared for the journey, they’re not going to make it, and brethren, the reality is, if we don’t prepare adequately in this spiritual life, neither will we. Our spiritual life is a one way trip too. Once we’ve made that commitment, answered the call and chosen this way of life… we either did it right, or we didn’t. Spiritual growth is so crucial, and that is the ultimate goal of our journey. Growing to be more like Christ. The ultimate goal is continual spiritual growth. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have times we don’t make it as far as we’d hoped, or that we never stumble and fall. The true question of a Christian’s mettle is what are you going to do now? How will you fix it? How will you continue to prepare for the journey? Once you’ve prepared, the journey requires intense focus. Focus: When the Chinook enters the Columbia in February, they have one thing on their mind, and one thing only. Spawn.

All else is secondary. Food, not needed. Distractions. Nope. Instinctually, they know that if the current is going downstream, they put their nose into the current, and swim upstream. Doesn’t matter what is thrown at them, doesn’t matter what gets in the way. Upstream. This is what makes Salmon so difficult to catch. You have to trigger upon their baser instincts in order to catch them. I gave a sermon here a while back that talked about the tactics required to catch returning fish. You have to prey upon their baser instincts because in most cases, they’re not interested in food. Those two instincts, the only ones you can get them to lose focus on the goal from is lust and anger. Salmon are extremely territorial, particularly the males, and if you put something flashy, noisy, or just plain bothersome in their grill, they’ll bite at it to get rid of it. They just want it out of their space. If that thing happens to have a hook in it, you just got dinner. Salmon are also by nature VERY curious organisms, so even if something isn’t right in their grill, if it’s flashy enough, and distracting enough, they’ll lose their focus and head over to check it out. Being that they don’t have any hands, in order to check it out, they pop it into their mouths and chew on it a bit to figure out what it is. Kind of like sharks, sharks aren’t eating surfers… they’re just testing out what they are.

It’s just unfortunate for the surfer that the shark has hundreds of really sharp teeth, and a foot wide bite pattern. Once again, if that thing they’re curious about has a hook in it. Again, it’s time to fire up the barbecue and call the in-laws. The trick to catching a salmon is getting it to become distracted from its goal, and losing focus. There are plenty of ways to do that. We as members of the Church of God have an almost laser-like focus during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we’re always checking packages, watching out for leaven in all of its forms. The bible is pretty clear about the consequences in the Old Testament when someone would slip, they were to be cut off from the host of Israel… now granted, we don’t go to that extent today, but we work very hard to keep an eye out for leavening slipping in during the days of Unleavened Bread. Though, even with that laser-like focus, it takes one moment of a lack of vigilance, and we’ve made a mistake. I’ll share with you a humorous story from this week, one that thankfully had a happy ending. Monday, I taught my first two classes, and headed down to the staff lounge to check my box, and there are usually treats in the Staff Room of some variety. I told myself before I left, Ben. You gotta be careful down there this week man. No treats. Period. Don’t even risk it, just leave them alone.

Scanned the table, sure enough, there were some baked goodies out, and I kind of went. Oh yeah, called it. And resisted. Gave myself a little high five in my head, pretty proud of myself. Looked down in my box and there was something little in it shaped like a lollipop. Though, when I picked it up, it was significantly lighter than a lollipop for its size. Looking closer it was a beautiful pink cakepop with these little white sprinkles, it looked absolutely delectable, and I went. Awwww. How nice, someone got me a cakepop. I looked around, no one else got a cakepop. WOW!! Someone must really appreciate me. How nice. I was excited. I like cakepops. I headed back to my room, sat down at my chair, and started to unwrap the wrapping, and a little voice in my head went, “Hey. Ben. CAKEpop? Hello. Cake.” and I looked at that thing, and SHRIEK dropped it onto the desk. I was this close. It was so pretty, it looked so delicious, and I lost that vigilance and focus for just a split second, but that was all it took. Thankfully, I regained it at the last minute, but THAT is how easily it can slip into our lives if we lose our focus. Sin is the same way. It can slip in so easily, packaged up so nicely. Something nice and flashy, right out there in front of us, when we lose our focus. Distractions are all around us nowadays; it seems every year there becomes more and more ways to be distracted in our lives. From television, to internet, to video games, to… you name it, it can be put before God. The last time I was here in Bend, we took at look at the requirements that God has given us.

We used the parable of the talents and the parable of the wise steward to illustrate that God requires that we make growth, and that we do SOMETHING profitable with what has been given to us. We’re not allowed to just hide it, He expects growth. In the example of the talents in Matthew 25, even though the end result of the first two servants weren’t equal, one made back 5, the other made back 2. They both doubled their investment, and were both judged profitable servants. Then in the parable of the Wise Steward we read verse 48 of Luke 12. To whom much is given, much is required. One of those things we’re given is time. We only have so many years on this planet; we only have so much Time. God has given us that time to do something with, not to waste it. We are admonished in the book of Ephesians to be wise with our time. Let’s turn there, Ephesians 5:14 to begin with, and we’ll read through verse 17. Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee. Eph 5:15 Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; Eph 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. One of the things we have been given is time, and God expects that we will be profitable with it.

Where is our time going? Are we using it as God expects? Where is our focus? Is our focus on entertainment? Or spiritual growth? I can honestly say, I have wasted a significant amount of the time in my life on entertainment, and I haven’t been as profitable with my time I should have been. It doesn’t mean that there is no time in our lives for entertainment, or “fun”… but that balance has to spiritually sound. If the TV is on all day from sunup to sundown, probably not the best use of time. If you spend a significant amount of time on Facecrack… probably not the best use of the time God has given you. Even the things we enjoy doing, hobbies, crafts, etc.. can be out of balance. Television, video games, the internet, and the fast paced society in which we live are creating a culture of entertainment, a culture of impulse and a culture of RIGHT NOW, RIGHT NOW!! If it takes more than 10 seconds, we’re not interested anymore!! Come on McDonalds, make my burger faster. Seriously? This website isn’t going to load in the next 3 seconds?? OH FORGET IT!! Why try? And this culture of impulse makes living this Christian life more difficult.

Christianity isn’t an impulse thing. It’s a long journey. It takes hard work, it requires that we put in our time, Christianity isn’t a get rich quick scheme, the only way for us to get rich in this Christian life is to focus on the goal, and walk one step at a time towards it. Anything that distracts us from that goal needs to be seriously evaluated as to its worth. Matthew 6:24. Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. You could substitute mammon for all sorts of things. But the point is, you can’t serve two masters. If our focus is on something else, we can’t focus on what we need to be focused upon. Matthew 6:33 goes on to tell us where that focus must be. Mat 6:33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. The Kingdom of God must be our focus. We have to be focused upon that coming Kingdom, and the glory that will be within it. We have to remain focused on the things that are above, and lay up our treasures in heaven, as the earlier portion of Matthew 6 discusses.

Our life today is so full of distraction, and while not all distraction is evil, if we’re not careful, we can spend so much time on the distractions that we don’t spend enough time walking with God. Studying, praying, fellowshipping with brethren, and the consequences of that could be devastating. The Days of Unleavened Bread offer us an opportunity to refocus our life, to recognize the patterns that need changing, put them out of our lives, and replace those patterns with things that are beneficial, and spiritually rewarding. Salmon that head upriver and lose focus of their goal, don’t make it. Something will distract them, and they will lose focus temporarily, but that temporary loss of focus was all it took, and they’re on the hook. We have to keep our focus on the Kingdom of God and head upstream towards that goal. Endure: Today marks the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, and this portion of the Spring Holy Days is almost over. We’ve examined our lives, put out the sin, put on the unleavened bread, refocused and recommitted our life, so where do we go from here? From here, we endure. Salmon return to the mouth of the Columbia, and begin the most perilous and difficult journey of their life.

Numerous studies have shown the survival rate of salmon is extremely low. In fact, out of 3,000 eggs laid in the tributaries, between 1 and 2 adults will survive to spawn. That is a mortality rate of 99.9994%, only 6/10,000th’s survive to spawn. Those that make it back to their home streams have endured. They have beaten genetics, predation, fishermen, more predation, man-made obstacles, and rapid by rapid, charged their way upstream. The Apostle Paul characterizes it as a marathon. Hebrews 12:1 – Paul had a great way of using the things that the people of that time were familiar with, so we often see references to the spiritual journey as events from the Grecian games. Sporting events. Hebrews 12:1. Heb 12:1 Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 1 Timothy 4:7 goes on to discuss the end result of a race that is run with endurance. 2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: 2Ti 4:8 henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing. Now, I’m not a runner. These analogies are simple enough to understand. BUT, for the most part they talk about the end result, and the race itself and not in much detail. I’ve never run much more than a mile at a time, and understanding the mental battles that go through the mind of a runner is something I simply can’t understand.

The desire to quit… well, I take that back. I have experienced THAT while running before… but knowing how hard you have to push your body at mile 22 to keep going, I just don’t viscerally understand that within its context, though I have friends who marathon and have talked about it. However, I have watched salmon beat themselves against rocks to go upstream. I have watched salmon try 12-15 times to make it up a set of rapids, unsuccessfully, and then wait in the bottom of the pools below resting to go at it again. You can do this too during the months of June and July in Mill City on the North Santiam. I have watched nature shows where Salmon have made it up the streams only to be eaten by a Grizzly as they return to the streams. I can understand this analogy viscerally. And I think you can as well, so I’d like to develop this analogy a bit further today. There was a distance cousin of the Spring Chinook that used to live in the Columbia River as well. They’re almost a legend, the status of a myth. The white men called them ‘June Hogs’ referencing their size, as well as their timing, and these fish averaged 70-90 lbs and 4 feet in length, with the larger specimens going upwards to 120 lbs, and 5 feet in length. Compared to the 30 and 40 pound trophy fish we catch today, you can see how they enjoy a near legendary status. These fish entered the Columbia River, travelled up the mainstem of the Columbia, and instead of taking the right fork onto the Snake River and into inland Idaho like our Spring Chinook do, these fish kept going.

They travelled up the Columbia, and some headed up the Spokane River, jumping up the Spokane Falls, and spawning in my home waters of Spokane, Washington. However the larger of them continued, past the Spokane River, up the Okanogan spawning near Kelowna, British Columbia, but still others, the largest of the large continued up the Columbia as the water got smaller, and the rapids got more difficult. Upriver they swam, spawning in small tributaries of the Columbia located in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta. These 100+ pound fish prepared significantly and packed on the weight and the fat in order to make this trip, a whopping 1800+ mile migration. These fish are now merely a legend, as the last of them died out in 1939 after the construction of the Grand Coulee dam blocked access to the last 1000 miles of their spawning habitat. Reportedly the workers on the dam watched as these massive salmon bashed themselves against the newly formed concrete walls. Repeatedly, until they were bloody and beaten. They would rest, and then continue to jump and bash themselves against the concrete until finally their bodies succumbed to the damage and they died, short of their goal, at the base of the Grand Coulee Dam. Over the next several years leading up to 1939, the last of the June Hogs met their demise at the base of those concrete pillars.

Instinctually, their drive told them that the goal was behind this final obstacle. That if they continued to throw themselves at it, continued to push themselves, propel their bodies into that immovable object, that it would eventually yield, like every other obstacle that was put in their path. Eventually… they made it over all of the others, why not this? Instinctually. Just hit it. Again, and again… and again. Now THAT is an analogy that I can understand. When it comes to beating trials, when it comes to getting through obstacles, the struggles we face, and the fight that we fight, we are expected to never give up. Sure, we might get discouraged, we said before, this life is tough and the bar IS high, but giving up is something we simply can’t do. Stumble? Get back up and hit it again. Experiencing a difficult trial? Get up and throw yourself at it again. Phillipians 4:12, we’ll see the words of Paul again, talking about the struggles and trials that he has faced over time, and how he has dealt with them. Phillipians 4:12-13. Php 4:12 I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want.

Php 4:13 I can do all things in him that strengthens me. Paul tells the reader here that regardless of the situation that he finds himself in, either in want or plenty, fed or hungry, that he has learned the secret to contentedness. Strength is provided by God to get through these difficulties. We’re told in numerous places not to worry for our lives, and to put our trials on God, and he will deliver us. In fact, the same message to the Israelites of the first Passover and Unleavened following the Exodus are still in effect today. When placed into an unwinnable position, a place where there was no way out, and a time of deep discouragement, God desired that his people turn to him and place his trust in him to deliver them. Today is no different. We just face different trials that discourage us. Insurmountable obstacles that it seems we can’t get past. Pinned between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army, these are the Grand Coulee Dams of our journey, and without God, we’ll end up beaten and bloody at the base of the dam, but with God. Nothing is impossible, no trial or difficulty is too great. We must endure, and in order to do that, we must take our journey one rapid at a time. [Pregnant Pause]

The Days of Unleavened Bread offer us a unique opportunity to grow spiritually. They provide us with a chance to prepare ourselves, to turn the magnifying glass upon ourselves and seek out the areas of our lives that need work. To symbolically put the sin out of our lives, as well as spiritually remove the sin we found in our self-examination and to daily take in Unleavened Bread to replace those holes, to establish good habits. These days allow us to change our focus from the things that distract, and burn time, to the things that leave lasting treasures in heaven, and help us to grow spiritually. Lastly, they give us the energy, and the strength to continue to endure the difficulties and trials, and the struggles that we face in our lives as we undergo our spiritual journey. Just like the Life Cycle of the Spring Chinook, the spiritually journey we undertake is wrought with danger and obstacles. From their first moment of hatching, to the final moments before spawning, they face difficulty and trial at every turn. And everything is done with a singular focus in mind. Get downstream to feed and grow, feed and grow to be able to return to spawn, return and endure all of the difficulties in the upstream journey to spawn. Salmon don’t get discouraged, they don’t give up, they don’t decide it’s not worth the fight. They just keep swimming.

One fin in front of the other so to speak, throwing themselves at the obstacles in their way until they conquer them, they get beat up in the process, but those that were able to adequately prepare in the ocean for the return trip, who were able to keep their focus on the goal and not be distracted by all of the flashy stuff, and endure the trials and difficulties of the return trip are successful. They return home to spawn, and the next generation of fish begin the cycle anew. For salmon, it’s instinctual. It’s fight or flight; they don’t have the capability to sit and analyze it. To allow emotion to become involved, and that’s where OUR difficulty lies. When we face trials, rather than just bashing ourselves against it, with no thought as to ‘why’ we have the trial, just continually throwing ourselves at it until we’re successful, we struggle with the trial, fight against it, but as we tire, we begin to ask ourselves… “Why?” Why am I going through this? Why would God allow me to face something like this? And we get discouraged. If we’re not careful, we lose faith in God that he can bring us through this trial or difficulty, and can deliver us from these difficulties.

Then our journey is stalled, and we’re swimming in the pool below the obstacle with no more energy to keep going. God loves us, and he cares about us, and he allows us to experience trials and tests that will strengthen and refine us. He refines us through fire. So as these days of Unleavened Bread come to a close, take the lessons you have learned from the past 7 days, dig deep and make the changes necessary. Commit yourself over the next year to throwing yourself at those issues full force, and without discouragement, but again, and again and again until you have been successful and kept that sin from your life. Keep the focus, and put on the mind and spirit of Christ daily, and most importantly, when the going gets tough, and it seems like you haven’t got any strength left, pray for God to strengthen you, and put one fin in front of the other, and… Just. Keep. Swimming.