On a mission trip to Honduras the Lord taught me an important lesson about His constant watch care for me.

We had been working hard all week, laying cement sidewalks at an orphanage in Santa Barbara. The last day of the trip was reserved to give our tired muscles and minds a chance to unwind and soak up the beautiful scenery at a natural park in the Honduran jungle. The park contained a large waterfall, and the leader of our group excitedly told us there was a cave behind it. He had hired a guide to lead us there.

Not one for risk-taking, I was reluctantly persuaded by my friends and by my fear of regretting not joining the single-file line of barefoot adventurers as we walked the muddy trail toward the waterfall.

Soon the soggy trail headed downward until it took us to the edge of the rushing river at the base of the waterfall. Huddled behind a large rock to protect my eyes from the spray of the agitated river water, I waited my turn to grab the hand of the person ahead of me and push off into the river. One by one we joined hands in a line and fought the current, pausing for brief moments to cling to slippery rocks and try to catch our breath and clear our eyes from the blinding mist. Several times on this treacherous journey I felt my hand losing its grip on the rock or on the hands of my partners on either side.

Amazingly, each time this happened, I felt the strong hand of our guide grabbing my wrist and placing my hand back in a place of safety. At just the moment I thought I would lose my grip and be swept down the river, his hand was there, giving me silent assurance that someone saw my struggle and would not allow me to be lost.

After what seemed like an eternity, we crossed underneath the waterfall itself and took turns sitting inside the acclaimed “cave” (actually, it was a small dark hole that fit four people inside if you sat on top of each other) before turning around to repeat the treacherous journey back to shore.

Finally, exhausted from the struggle but with our feet firmly planted on land (well, mud), we took turns telling each other how terrified we had been and how close we had come to losing our grip and being swept downriver. And amazingly, the same guide who had diligently grabbed my wrist each time I started to slip had done the same for each of my friends when their grip loosened as well.

When I think back on this experience, I am reminded of the words of Isaiah 43:1-3: “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. . . . For I am the Lord your God’ ” (NKJV).*

We have a Guide who knows us by name and calls us His own. He sees our daily struggles against the raging current of sin and at just the moment when our strength appears to run out, His strong hand is there to put us in a place of safety. No matter what trials we are facing today, He will be with us, and we have nothing, absolutely nothingat all, to fear. How wonderful is that?

* Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.