Going Against The Flow: Choosing Our Direction

I recently spent an incredible two weeks in the Scottish Highlands. Mountains and lochs feel like home to me. One of the places we visited was the Falls of Shin. At the end of summer and into early autumn, Atlantic salmon return to their birthplace to spawn.

We stood and watched for a few minutes and managed to see two or three salmon attempting to jump the waterfall. It seemed an impossible task. The current was strong due to the heavy rain over the preceding weeks, the waterfall was pretty high, and the salmon we saw were only small fish.

There is something remarkable about watching them. They are driven by something within that keeps them moving against the current, towards a destination, to achieve what, on the face of it, seems impossible.

None of them made it up during the time we were watching, but I have a strong sense that they won’t give up the fight.

The Life That Happens To Us

So much of our lives seems to happen without us really choosing it. The routines simply happen on repeat – we get up, go to work, look at our phones, respond to messages, do the shopping, deal with the family, eat, watch something and go to bed.

None of these things is necessarily bad, but the problem is that the accumulation of unexamined choices begins to shape our lives. And, because we’re tired and distracted, we don’t often stop to ask:

“Where is all this taking me?”

The flow of ordinary life has a direction.

Going With The Flow Isn’t Actually Neutral

We’re not simply drifting along without any direction. We are caught in the current, and that current is directing us – culture, technology, advertising, work, expectations, comparison, convenience, busyness – all of these things exert a kind of gravitational pull on our lives.

So, if we don’t intentionally choose a direction, we will probably end up travelling in the direction that is easiest, most obvious or most culturally normal, flowing with the current downstream.

Jesus spoke about these things:

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

The Message translation is particularly clear in the way that it is worded:

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life – to God! – is vigorous and requires total attention.”
Matthew 7:13-14 (The Message)

One of the interesting questions to ask about these verses is, “Why are there many people on the wide road and few on the narrow one?”

Could it be that the wide road requires very little intentionality? Perhaps the road is wide because there are so many things that can pull us along it. We don’t necessarily have to choose it. We simply have to keep moving.

We can follow the crowd and be swept along by the current.

In contrast, to walk the narrow way may mean a life lived with intention, examining our choices and, like the salmon, choosing the direction in which we want to go.

Following Jesus Means Choosing a Way

I don’t believe that Jesus is offering us a different set of beliefs through these words. It’s much deeper than that. He’s inviting us into a way of life.

To follow Jesus means that there are choices to make about how we spend our time, what we give our attention to, what we value, how we treat others, how we view and use our possessions, how we respond to pressure and where we find our identity. Those choices won’t always be the easiest ones.

The narrow way isn’t necessarily narrow because God is trying to make it difficult.

It’s narrow because there is a particular direction to it.

Intentionality Doesn’t Mean Controlling Everything

Being intentional isn’t about controlling every moment of our lives. It’s about deciding what direction we want our lives to face – and choosing rhythms that help us remain open and attentive to God within that life.

Just like the salmon, we can’t control the flow of the water we have to battle against. But we can choose the direction in which we swim.

But intentionality requires space.

If we’re constantly rushing from one thing to the next, we don’t have much opportunity to consider the direction we’re travelling in. We simply respond to whatever is in front of us.

Perhaps one of the reasons we need to slow down is so that we can actually choose.

But choosing a direction is one thing. Finding ways to keep moving in that direction is another.

This is where I think a Rule of Life can be helpful.

A Rule of Life: Choosing Our Direction

A Rule of Life isn’t a list of rules for becoming a better Christian. It’s a way of giving shape to our intentions. It helps turn the things we say we value into rhythms we actually practise.

One question you could ask yourself is:

If this is the kind of person I want to become, and this is the kind of life I want to live with God, what rhythms will help me move in that direction?

It might include simple things like:

• making space for silence
• regular Bible reading and prayer
• Sabbath/rest
• time outdoors
• eating together
• limiting the things that constantly demand our attention
• making time for relationships
• rhythms of generosity and service

These aren’t rules that earn God’s approval.

They are rhythms that help us keep moving towards God and learning to abide in Him.

A Rule of Life won’t stop the current. Life will still be busy. There will still be demands on our time and attention. There will still be pressures pulling us in different directions.

But perhaps that’s the point.

We don’t need to control the current. We need to become intentional about the direction in which we swim.

So perhaps the question isn’t simply “How busy is my life?” or even, “What do I need to change?”

Perhaps it’s:

“Where is the current of my life taking me?“

And is that where I want to go?

Is it taking me towards the kind of person I want to become?

Is it taking me towards Jesus?

We may not be able to change everything at once. But we can begin to make different choices. We can create space to notice where we’re going, choose our direction and establish rhythms that help us keep moving that way.

Perhaps that’s what intentionality looks like.

Not trying to control our lives, but choosing the direction in which we live them.