Hidden Danger

We drove down a road in southern Missouri on our way to a place we had planned to spend the night. We were four college friends on a camping trip. The weather had been rainy for several days. As we came to a bridge we saw that cars had stopped on either side of the swollen river. The water was going over the bridge, an a few yards of the road leading to it, but it did not seem to be very deep. We debated with each other about crossing the bridge under these conditions. Some thought that the raging river underneath the bridge made it too risky while others thought that the shallowness of the water over the bridge made it safe. We decided that since no one else was crossing the bridge that we would turn around and find another way.

The next day we picked up a paper and saw on the front page a picture of the very bridge we had seen the day before. The caption under the picture described how the force of the water had moved the bridge and repositioned it a few yards downstream. While it looked like everything was normal the road leading to the bridge now led to the river. Disaster and death was hidden by a few inches of water that kept the casual observer from seeing the truth.

What was it that kept us from attempting to cross the river that day? If we had stopped to ask we would have been told that the bridge had moved. But we did not stop to ask. If we had gotten out of the car and looked closer we would have seen what the shallow water was hiding. But we did not stop to look closely at the danger.

We discussed it among ourselves and compared our experience and our observations. It looked safe to the risk takers but dangerous to the cautious. The deciding factor was the simple observation. No one else was crossing the bridge while many were looking at it.

We may not always see the hidden dangers that are in front of us. They can be hidden by something small, as small as a thin rush of water. A crowd of people may be nearby and the casual observer may think that their presence also means approval. A closer look at the crowd may reveal that they are looking at the danger but doing nothing to keep people away from it. The crowd can hide the danger and we can get a false sense of security when we rely on the presence of others to protect us from danger.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) We may not always see the danger but we can always trust in God. In Christ is real security. He gives us the vision to see the dangers we can avoid, strength to overcome the dangers we cannot avoid, and wisdom to face the dangers from which we need to learn. He promised to always be with us, in rain or shine.

Robin