I was watching a show called Chance on Hulu and a character was explaining the concept of “The Frozen Lake”. It is a metaphor for how the heart wants what the heart wants. Your frozen lake is the name for what you want most in this world, and you want it badly. So, because of that, it leads to your own destruction if you are not careful. You would run out to the middle of a frozen lake because your heart wants it, and you think you are quick enough to go out there and grab it before the ice cracks, and the next thing you know, you are already standing on the ice, and it begins to fall apart around you.
Our frozen lake
For some people, it’s money, fame, respect, and they see those things in the middle of that lake and they convince themselves, “I can just go get it.” But everyone else sees how thin the ice is in the middle because that is the deepest part and it takes the longest to freeze over. The two hardest parts of a journey are the very beginning, and right before you complete it. The ice is the thinnest right at the center of a frozen lake.
People try to warn you “Hey, be careful” or “Make sure you consider the costs”. But you know what you want. You know your heart’s desires. You prayed for this. You sacrificed everything for this. You poured sweat, blood, and tears into this. You didn’t come this far to only turn back. But like I said earlier, you don’t realize you are already standing on the thin ice and it’s starting to fall apart around you.
Treasures of the heart
Matthew 6:21 says, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If you ever want to know what someone really cares about just wait, they will show you. And when they show you, pay attention. We fall into so many pitfalls because we are just trying to be positive that what we want is a good thing. We view our desires through rose-colored glasses. The thing about rose-colored glasses is that when we look through the red flags just look like flags, so we miss them.
Imagine if we viewed things the way Christ viewed them. There is only one way to cross the frozen lake safely:
Do not run,
Walk slowly,
Stop and look at everything,
Take your time.
This is the opposite of most scams. They tell you to hurry. That it must be done right now. Don’t think too much about it because there is no tomorrow. Life is short. But do not believe it. Life is long, and many people are paying at 47-years-old for mistakes they made when they were 16-years-old.
Listen to the warnings
Listen to your close trusted friends. They are the ones that can see when you are taking a dangerous path. Especially if they have been down that path before. The best course of action is to know what God wants in this situation, and the best way to do that is to read His word, talk to Him, and have Him talk to you through others. Don’t drown yourself in the middle of that lake chasing after things. The best things in life aren’t things. If you are going to go out there and risk it all, make sure it is worth it. Risk it all for your eternal soul. Risk it all to save your marriage. Risk it all to make a better world for your children.
My entire life can be summed up in one sentence, “It didn’t go as planned, and that’s OK.” I have run out to the center of a frozen lake several times in my life and God had to come to rescue me from drowning because I didn’t heed any warnings or take any precautions. And the crazy thing is most of them were good things like a new job, a relationship, a financial decision. But my fatal error was planning, executing my plan and then including God lastly. It should be to ask God what his will is for your life. Let him give you the plan. Ask him how to execute the plan. Follow those instructions, (even when they make zero sense…in fact especially when they make zero sense) then reap the blessings.
That’s how God works. There is no-thin ice with God. It’s all holy ground and it is rock solid. Then you can:
Run to him,
Forget about everything else,
And you don’t have to take your time.
Prescott Williamson is a Bible-believing Christian. He is a husband, a father, and someone who believes that there is a little humor to be found in whatever situation God sends your way. He was born in the small islands of the Bahamas but now lives in the Suburbs of Fort Worth Texas, which is basically the same thing. He enjoys TV, reading, blogging and serving in his church (especially on the days they serve donuts). You can see what I have been thinking about lately on my blog www.prescottascoolbreeze.com.
Amen, and I have been there many times, trying to take control and put God in a box.
I really appreciated your post and the metaphor of the frozen lake. Oh, how often we can run out on that lake without prayer and discernment and quickly find ourselves in trouble when we find ourselves on thin ice! What a contrast to how Jesus is our solid foundation that will not fail us!
Just saw this episode of Chance, and found this. And really appreciated it.
I am glad it resonated with you. Good show