Deeper than ever before

The idea of going deeper is scary at times and reckless at others; it all depends on your perspective.

I remember swimming at a family friend's pool and having to stay in the shallows because my parents weren't in the pool, but were right at the edge watching. I desperately wanted to move into the deeper end because then I could jump in and actually swim, not just stand.  I longed for the deeper water, but it was reckless. My mother was worried about me going to the deeper end alone because if I went there by myself there was no certainty of what would happen, no control. But then something happened, my Dad jumped in the deep end and treading water began to call out to me. After longing for the deep waters, now that my Dad was there I began to swim to him. However, after a few short strokes I pulled up short, suddenly fearful of what would happen in the deeper end. I questioned myself, "Am I a good enough swimmer?" "What if I can't do it?" "What if I'm not strong enough?"

So I stopped just at the point in the shallows where the incline into the deep waters began, yet I could still stand with my head above water, barely. My Dad again called out to me, "Lauren, come on. I'm right here. I've got you." I stood there and looked at him and then back at the shallows where I could easily play, where I could easily CONTROL my surroundings, my actions, and the majority of the response. I fully trusted my Dad, I just didn't trust myself enough. I doubted that I would fail before I could reach him and that would put everything and everyone in jeopardy, not just myself.

We do the same thing with God. We have this intense longing to push out into the deeper waters of a more intimate life with Him. This venture into the deep requires total trust and casting off all doubt. It also requires us to realize that we cannot control our lives or our future. Rather, we must trust God to control it, to align everything as it should be for His will. We must relinquish our grasp on our doubts and these things we can control, and instead take that one step that will take our heads beneath the surface and into the incline of the deep.

In the same way that my Dad was at the other end of the pool beckoning me into the deep place that just moments before I had longed to go to, God is looking at us and motioning to us to come on and take that step. He is saying that He is right there and we have but to take that step and move into the deep. The amazing thing is that when we decide to go for the deep, HE IS ALREADY THERE! He knows what is coming, what will happen, and who we will become in the process.

So we have a choice, we can continue to look upon the deep and never step foot out of the shallow waters or we can act. That summer, in that pool, I realized that if my Dad was already there that it would all be okay, whether or not it went as I though it should. This was based in the knowledge that my Dad cared for me, loved me, sought to protect me, and wanted to push me to do more and be more than I ever had been or done. In order to do that it would take courage, the courage of venturing into the deep. 

So now, in this position of my life where I have often ventured into the deep with my God, I find myself looking at an ever deepening water. I look back over my life and realize that every deeper place over time becomes a new shallows and that all too soon I come to another incline that beckons me ever deeper. How incredible it is that we have a heavenly father, a God who wants us to come ever deeper into a depth that knows no bounds. There is not point at which we have gone as deep as we can because there will always be more to know in God and in His will for our lives.

I pray that you have the courage to move into the deeper, however that looks for you and your life right now. Just move. Listen. Hear Him - He is calling you out and into that depth. In His love. In His promise. In His plan. In His will. As you move into the deeper look around, for I know that I will be there too, moving ever deeper. I am sure too, that if we continue to look around we will find that we are surrounded by others pushing to go to the depths, as well.