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Swimming With Alligators: The Warnings We Ignore and the Life We Were Made For

On July 2nd, 2015, a man named Tommy Woodward stepped out of a bar in Houston, Texas, into a warm summer night. He looked out over Adams Bayou, saw the moon reflecting off the water, and decided it was the perfect night for a swim. A bartender ran out to warn him. There was even a sign on the dock that read: no swimming, alligators. Tommy’s response was dismissive, defiant, and ultimately fatal. Within minutes, a ten-foot alligator pulled him under. He became the first person in 178 years of Texas state history to be killed by an alligator.

It is a tragic story. But it is also a deeply human one.

We do not listen well to warnings.

We drive with the check engine light on for months. We ignore the gas gauge until we are coasting on fumes. And when it comes to the most important warnings of all, the ones that concern our souls and our eternity, we are perhaps most dismissive of all. We shrug, we delay, we rationalize, and we keep swimming.

The twelfth chapter of the Gospel of John records the final public teaching of Jesus. It is the last time he would address a crowd before his crucifixion. And what he chose to say in that final address was a warning. Not a comfortable one. Not a feel-good send-off. A genuine, urgent, cry-it-from-the-rooftops warning about the dangers of unbelief and rejection.

The Lie That You Have Time

The passage opens with a striking detail. After delivering his warning, Jesus hid himself from the crowd. That image carries enormous weight. The prophet Isaiah wrote that we should seek the Lord while he may be found. There is an implied urgency in that phrase. Access is not permanent. Hearts that are repeatedly hardened do not stay neutral. They calcify. They close. And eventually, the voice of God that once felt near begins to feel very far away.

The lie that we can simply believe later, that there is always more time, is one of the most dangerous lies a person can tell themselves. Every time we push Jesus aside and say not right now, our hearts grow a little more resistant. A little more sealed. You do not know when your time will be up. None of us do. And the longer we wait, the more we risk arriving at a place where we can no longer hear what we once heard clearly.

The Lie That You Need a Miracle First

John 12:37 says that even though Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs, the people still did not believe. This should permanently put to rest the idea that evidence is what stands between a person and faith.

Pharaoh watched the Nile turn to blood, watched frogs and gnats and hail descend on Egypt, and hardened his heart every single time. The Israelites watched Elijah definitively demonstrate the power of God over the prophets of Baal, and went right back to worshiping Baal. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and the religious leaders responded by plotting to kill him.

The Bible is clear: faith comes by hearing the word of God, not by witnessing miracles. Jesus himself told a parable about a rich man in Hades who begged Abraham to send someone back from the dead to warn his family. Abraham’s response was sobering: if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. Unbelief is not an evidence problem. It is a heart problem.

The Lie That It Is God’s Fault

John 12:39-40 references the words of Isaiah, describing how God blinded eyes and hardened hearts. This is a difficult passage, and it deserves an honest response.

God’s foreknowledge of an outcome does not make him the cause of it. A parent who knows their child learning to ride a bike will eventually fall is not responsible for pushing them over. In the same way, God knowing that people would reject Christ does not mean he forced their rejection. What the Bible consistently shows is that God hardens those who have already, repeatedly, hardened themselves. Pharaoh hardened his own heart five times before the text records God hardening it. The pattern in Romans 1 is the same: when people persistently suppress the truth and push God away, he eventually gives them over to what they have chosen. This is called the passive wrath of God, and it is a sobering reality. It is not God being cruel. It is God honoring the choices of those who have made their rejection clear.

The Lie That Approval Is Worth More Than Truth

Perhaps the most quietly devastating warning in John 12 comes in verse 42. Many of the religious authorities believed in Jesus. They saw the signs, they understood the implications, they knew he was divine. But they did not confess it, because they feared being put out of the synagogue. The text says plainly: they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

They got it right in their minds and still chose wrong in their hearts.

When we anchor our identity in human approval, we become shapeshifters. We change our convictions depending on the room we are in. We exhaust ourselves trying to be whoever the crowd needs us to be. And no matter how much approval we collect, it never fills the deep ache inside us, because that ache was not designed to be filled by human applause. It was designed to be filled by the voice of God saying, you are mine.

The Light That Darkness Cannot Overcome

Against all of these warnings stands the most beautiful offer in human history. Jesus said in John 12:46 that he came into the world as light, so that whoever believes in him would not remain in darkness. The darkness he describes is real: enslavement to sinful desires, a life lived in foolishness, and a future without hope. But he came to reverse all of it.

He came to break the patterns that trap us. He came to replace foolishness with wisdom and despair with a radiant, unshakeable hope. He came not to judge but to save.

The warning is real. The alligators are real. But the dock is still there. The offer is still open. And the one extending it is crying out, not whispering, that it is not too late to get out of the water.

COVE GROUP GUIDE

Cove Group Guide

Based on “Beware the Alligators” — John 12 | Shelter Cove Church

OVERVIEW

In his final public teaching in the Gospel of John, Jesus issues a serious warning to those who would harden their hearts against him. This guide will help your group explore the dangers of unbelief and rejection, and what it looks like to respond to Christ with genuine, courageous faith.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Jesus gave his final public address as a warning, not a casual conversation. The urgency of his words reflects how seriously God takes the human heart’s response to him.
  • Unbelief is rarely a single dramatic decision. It is usually the slow, incremental hardening of a heart that keeps saying “not yet.”
  • Seeing miracles does not produce faith. Faith comes through hearing and responding to the word of God (Romans 10:17).
  • God does not harden a heart that has not first hardened itself. His judgment is often the act of giving people exactly what they have chosen.
  • Loving human approval more than God’s approval leads to spiritual shapeshifting — a life with no anchor, no identity, and no peace.
  • Rejecting Christ is not a neutral act. It means rejecting the Father, remaining in darkness, and facing future judgment.
  • The same passage that contains Christ’s sternest warnings also contains his clearest statement of purpose: he came to save the world, not condemn it.

ICEBREAKER

Think of a time you ignored a warning — a check engine light, a weather forecast, advice from a friend — and it cost you. What happened, and what did you learn from it?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Section 1 — The Lie That I Can Believe Later

  1. Pastor Chad described how hearts harden gradually when people keep telling themselves they have more time. Have you ever noticed this pattern in your own life or in someone close to you? What did that look like?

  2. John 12:36 says Jesus “departed and hid himself from them.” Isaiah 55:6 urges people to seek the Lord while he may be found. What do you think it means practically that there is a window of opportunity? Does that idea create urgency in you, or does it make you uncomfortable? Why?

  3. What are the most common things people use to justify putting off a deeper commitment to Christ?

Section 2 — The Lie That Miracles Would Make Me Believe

  1. John 12:37 notes that even after witnessing many signs, people still did not believe. Why do you think visible miracles so often fail to produce lasting faith?

  2. Pastor Chad drew a distinction between genuine intellectual questions and a heart that is simply resistant to God. How would you describe that difference to someone who says their doubts are what keep them from faith?

  3. Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing the word of God. How has engaging with Scripture personally shaped or deepened your own faith in ways that an experience alone could not?

Section 3 — The Lie That It Is God’s Fault I Cannot Believe

  1. John 12:39-40 references Isaiah’s prophecy that God blinded eyes and hardened hearts. This is a difficult passage. How does the group understand the relationship between God’s foreknowledge and human responsibility? Where does the blame fall, according to Acts 2?

  2. Pastor Chad described the “passive wrath of God” as God eventually giving people over to what they have chosen. What are the signs in a person’s life that this process may be underway?

  3. Is there an area of your own life where you have been tempted to blame God for a spiritual struggle that is actually rooted in your own resistance?

Section 4 — The Lie That I Will Believe When It Is Convenient

  1. John 12:42-43 describes religious leaders who believed intellectually but would not confess Jesus publicly because they loved the approval of people more than the approval of God. Where do you feel the most pressure to hide or soften your faith?

  2. Pastor Chad described the exhaustion of being a spiritual shapeshifter — someone who changes depending on the crowd. Have you experienced that exhaustion? What does it feel like to live that way?

  3. What would it look like practically for you to anchor your identity more firmly in what God says about you rather than in what the people around you think?

Section 5 — Christ’s Final Warning and the Offer of Salvation

  1. John 12:44-50 contains some of Jesus’ most sobering words about judgment, but also his clearest statement that he came to save, not condemn. How do you hold both of those truths together without minimizing either one?

  2. Pastor Chad described three consequences of living in darkness: slavery to sinful desires, walking in foolishness, and a bleak hopeless future. Which of those three resonates most with your experience before Christ, or with where you see people around you today?

  3. Jesus said in John 12:50 that the Father’s commandment is eternal life. What does it mean to you personally that following Christ is not a burden designed to restrict you, but a path designed to give you life?

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This week, choose at least one of the following:

  1. Examine your heart for delay. Spend 10 to 15 minutes in honest prayer asking God to reveal any area of your life where you have been telling him “not yet.” Write down what surfaces and bring it before him.

  2. Anchor yourself in the word. If your faith has felt dry or distant lately, commit to reading one chapter of John each day this week. Notice how hearing the word affects your heart differently than waiting for a dramatic experience.

  3. Identify your approval source. Think through the different environments you move through — work, home, church, social settings. Ask yourself honestly: Am I the same person in each of these, or do I shapeshift? Share your honest answer with a trusted person in your group.

  4. Have a courageous conversation. Is there someone in your life who is swimming with alligators — hardening their heart, putting off faith, or living in the darkness? Pray for one specific opportunity this week to speak truth to them with gentleness and love.

  5. Respond to the invitation. If you came into this study not yet right with God, do not leave the same way. Pastor Chad said it simply: call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved (Romans 10:13). That conversation can happen right now, in the honesty of your own heart.

CLOSING PRAYER

Close your time together by praying through these three things:

  • Gratitude — Thank God that Christ came to save and not to condemn, and that his warnings are expressions of mercy.
  • Honesty — Ask the Spirit to reveal any hardness, delay, or people-pleasing that is keeping group members from full surrender.
  • Courage — Ask God for the boldness to live openly as his people, anchored in his approval alone, and to speak that truth to others.

5 DAY DEVO

5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide

Based on the Themes from John 12 and the messgae”Beware the Alligators”

Day 1: The Goodness of God

Reading: Psalm 107:1-9

Devotional: The message opened with a simple but profound declaration: God is good. Not good in a vague, sentimental way, but good in a way that reaches into the lowest places of human experience and transforms them. The psalmist in Psalm 107 describes people wandering in desert wastelands, hungry and thirsty, crying out to God, and being delivered. That is the pattern of divine goodness. It does not wait until circumstances are comfortable. It meets us in the desert. Look back over your own life. Where has God met you in the wilderness? Where has his goodness shown up in the hardest seasons? Gratitude is born in remembrance.

Personal Reflection: Write down three specific moments in your life where God’s goodness was unmistakable, even if it was only visible in hindsight.

Practical Application: Share one of those moments with someone today. Testimony is one of the most powerful tools of faith-building, both for you and for those who hear it.

Day 2: The Danger of Delay

Reading: Isaiah 55:6-11

Devotional: Isaiah 55:6 urges readers to seek the Lord while he may be found and to call on him while he is near. The message drew a sobering picture of what happens when we delay our response to God. Hearts do not stay neutral when they resist him. They harden, slowly and incrementally, until the voice of God becomes harder and harder to hear. The crowd in John 12 had access to Christ himself, walking and teaching among them, and still they chose to wait, to weigh their options, to protect their comfort. Do not mistake patience for permission to delay. The invitation is open now. Respond now.

Personal Reflection: Is there an area of your life where you have been telling God “later”? What is the honest reason behind that delay?

Practical Application: Identify one specific spiritual decision you have been postponing. Take one concrete step toward it today, no matter how small.

Day 3: Faith Is a Heart Issue, Not an Evidence Issue

Reading: Romans 10:14-17; Hebrews 11:1-6

Devotional: The message addressed a common objection: “I would believe if I just saw a miracle.” But Scripture is clear that faith comes by hearing the word of God, not by accumulating signs and wonders. Romans 10:17 makes this plain. The Pharaoh of Egypt witnessed some of the most dramatic displays of divine power ever recorded in human history, and his heart only grew harder. The religious leaders watched Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead and responded by plotting to kill him. The evidence was never the real obstacle. The heart was. God is not withholding proof from you. He is inviting you to trust him through his word.

Personal Reflection: Are your doubts genuine questions seeking honest answers, or are they shields protecting a heart that does not want to surrender? Ask God to show you the difference.

Practical Application: Spend fifteen minutes today reading a passage of Scripture with no agenda other than to listen. Ask God to speak through his word and then sit quietly with what you receive.

Day 4: The Approval Trap

Reading: Galatians 1:10; John 5:41-44; Proverbs 29:25

Devotional: The religious authorities in John 12 believed in Jesus intellectually but refused to confess him publicly because they loved the approval of men more than the approval of God. The message described what this does to a person: it turns them into a shapeshifter, a chameleon who changes with every crowd, standing for nothing and exhausted by the performance. Proverbs 29:25 describes the fear of man as a snare, a trap. But trusting in God lifts a person above that trap. When your identity is anchored in what God says about you, the opinions of others lose their power to define you. You are already called beloved. That is enough.

Personal Reflection: In what environments do you find yourself changing who you are to earn approval? What does that reveal about where you are truly placing your trust?

Practical Application: The next time you feel pressure to compromise your convictions for social acceptance, pause and silently remind yourself of one truth God declares about you in Scripture. Let that truth be louder than the crowd.

Day 5: Light Has Come

Reading: John 1:1-14; Ephesians 2:1-10; Colossians 1:13-14

Devotional: The message closed with one of the most beautiful contrasts in all of Scripture: the darkness and the light. Without Christ, the Bible describes humanity as enslaved to sinful desires, walking in foolishness, and facing a future without hope. But Colossians 1:13-14 declares that God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. This is not a gradual improvement program. It is a rescue. It is a transfer of kingdoms. And it is accomplished entirely by grace, not by moral effort or religious performance. Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this unmistakable. You did not earn the light. It was given. Walk in it.

Personal Reflection: What areas of your life still feel marked by darkness, by old patterns, old fears, or old lies? Bring those specific areas honestly before God today.

Practical Application: Read Ephesians 2:10 and meditate on the truth that you are God’s workmanship, created for good works he has already prepared. Ask him to show you one of those works today and take a step toward it.