Into the Deep
I was speaking with a friend the other night.
We had a nice chat ~ one of those chats that touch on the deep; one of those chats that cause that bubbly joy to stir within; one of those chats that cause you to ponder how you do things.
Sometimes we get settled into the regular, the comfortable, the expected.
And we forget ~ or maybe never even realize the power of the deep.
The necessity of the deep.
The simplicity of the deep.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own thoughts, our own needs, our own sorrows that we lose sight of the deep.
Of the deeper, more personal topics.
Of the topics that may stretch and pull us out of who we think we are.
It's those topics like the Holy Spirit.
It's a topic such as praying for fellow believers.
Of spiritual warfare.
Of acknowledging God's hand in our daily lives.
Of recognizing His power, His wisdom, His love for us.
I was reminded of a little story and shared it with my friend.
It was years ago, and there was a church leader who allowed a particular, devastating sin into his life, maintaining an unrepentant heart. I was shocked, saddened, and disappointed.
And then God spoke to my heart.
"Did you ever pray for him? Did you pray for his marriage? His ministry? His spirit? There was a lot of pressure in leadership ~ did you pray for him, for wisdom, protection, strengthening?"
Ouch.
I knew the answer to that one.
Or how about the time when you're in the pit. Where you have nowhere to go, and you can't grip anything to help you crawl out. You cry out to the Savior. You pray and plead for help, for solutions. You even sometimes get angry.
But then He says,
"Do you ever ask Me what I want for you? Do you ever seek wisdom on how I want to use you in this situation? Do you ever ask Me to do as I desire with and through you?"
Hmmm.
Sometimes we bring so much to God, that we forget to leave it with Him.
We forget to trust Him.
We forget to cling to hope ~ that which we cannot see or understand.
Our conversations with God become one-sided and we use God as a sounding board.
We don't consult Him.
There is nothing wrong with bringing our needs, our concerns, our broken hearts and worries to God. He, in fact, encourages us to do so.
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7, NLT)
"Give your burdens to the Lord and He will take care of you ... " (Psalm 55:22, NLT)
He wants to hear our hearts.
But we need to seek His heart as well. To hear His voice. To be open to His purposes in us.
Sometimes we need to sit and ask God.
To simply ask.
To dive into the deep and see that we are not meant to live in the mundane, to dwell in the comfortable, to stay where it's safe in the shallows.
We are meant to grow. To flourish. To live as Christ in us.
That means to pray outside of our needs sometimes.
That means to seek and ask God what He wants to do in us, for us, and through us.
The lessons of the deep are lessons that I am continuously learning, often with a dose of humility.
I stand now, arms open and lifted, with face upturned.
I stand with hope and joy, even in the unknown. Even in the pit.
I stand with a heart that needs reminding, a heart that is often weak, often untrusting.
And I listen to this reminder of how great God is, how powerful His presence is, how worthy of praise He is, how patient He is with my doubting, forgetful heart.
I read this scripture about going deeper ...
Jesus was speaking to some fishermen friends.
"Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish." (Luke 5:4, NLT)
The response?
"Master, we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again." (vs.5)
And so they did. And they had a hard time hauling the nets back up, as they were overflowing with fish.
Maybe when we go into the deep, willingly, even when we're not sure, God meets us there and fills us to overflowing.
Maybe we need to be aware of His voice when He gently speaks and says,
"Now, go out to where it is deeper."
We had a nice chat ~ one of those chats that touch on the deep; one of those chats that cause that bubbly joy to stir within; one of those chats that cause you to ponder how you do things.
Sometimes we get settled into the regular, the comfortable, the expected.
And we forget ~ or maybe never even realize the power of the deep.
The necessity of the deep.
The simplicity of the deep.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own thoughts, our own needs, our own sorrows that we lose sight of the deep.
Of the deeper, more personal topics.
Of the topics that may stretch and pull us out of who we think we are.
It's those topics like the Holy Spirit.
It's a topic such as praying for fellow believers.
Of spiritual warfare.
Of acknowledging God's hand in our daily lives.
Of recognizing His power, His wisdom, His love for us.
I was reminded of a little story and shared it with my friend.
It was years ago, and there was a church leader who allowed a particular, devastating sin into his life, maintaining an unrepentant heart. I was shocked, saddened, and disappointed.
And then God spoke to my heart.
"Did you ever pray for him? Did you pray for his marriage? His ministry? His spirit? There was a lot of pressure in leadership ~ did you pray for him, for wisdom, protection, strengthening?"
Ouch.
I knew the answer to that one.
Or how about the time when you're in the pit. Where you have nowhere to go, and you can't grip anything to help you crawl out. You cry out to the Savior. You pray and plead for help, for solutions. You even sometimes get angry.
But then He says,
"Do you ever ask Me what I want for you? Do you ever seek wisdom on how I want to use you in this situation? Do you ever ask Me to do as I desire with and through you?"
Hmmm.
Sometimes we bring so much to God, that we forget to leave it with Him.
We forget to trust Him.
We forget to cling to hope ~ that which we cannot see or understand.
Our conversations with God become one-sided and we use God as a sounding board.
We don't consult Him.
There is nothing wrong with bringing our needs, our concerns, our broken hearts and worries to God. He, in fact, encourages us to do so.
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7, NLT)
"Give your burdens to the Lord and He will take care of you ... " (Psalm 55:22, NLT)
He wants to hear our hearts.
But we need to seek His heart as well. To hear His voice. To be open to His purposes in us.
Sometimes we need to sit and ask God.
To simply ask.
To dive into the deep and see that we are not meant to live in the mundane, to dwell in the comfortable, to stay where it's safe in the shallows.
We are meant to grow. To flourish. To live as Christ in us.
That means to pray outside of our needs sometimes.
That means to seek and ask God what He wants to do in us, for us, and through us.
The lessons of the deep are lessons that I am continuously learning, often with a dose of humility.
I stand now, arms open and lifted, with face upturned.
I stand with hope and joy, even in the unknown. Even in the pit.
I stand with a heart that needs reminding, a heart that is often weak, often untrusting.
And I listen to this reminder of how great God is, how powerful His presence is, how worthy of praise He is, how patient He is with my doubting, forgetful heart.
I read this scripture about going deeper ...
Jesus was speaking to some fishermen friends.
"Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish." (Luke 5:4, NLT)
The response?
"Master, we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again." (vs.5)
And so they did. And they had a hard time hauling the nets back up, as they were overflowing with fish.
Maybe when we go into the deep, willingly, even when we're not sure, God meets us there and fills us to overflowing.
Maybe we need to be aware of His voice when He gently speaks and says,
"Now, go out to where it is deeper."
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