Psalm 42:6-8 NKJV 6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar. 7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me. 8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.
God wants to take us deeper in our walk with Him. But how often do we stay in the shallow end when God wants to submerge us in the deep end? God says, “No More Wading!”. God wants us to ride His waves of glory, waves that are never ending. To go from glory to glory to glory.
I love the beach and the ocean; it is my favorite place to be. Growing up my family went to the beach every summer, great memories. But when I was a kid, I was afraid of the waves, afraid of going deeper in the ocean. I was not much of a good swimmer at that age, but I wanted so bad to ride the waves, just like other kids were. I was a skinny kid, and I was afraid of a wave knocking me down and dragging me out to sea. The waves looked so much bigger than me, like a giant, but in reality, the waves averaged in size about 3-6 feet. I would just wade around in the wake of the waves, staying close to dry land. Just enough to get my feet wet. Full of fear but yet at the same time a yearning to go further into the ocean. To feel and ride the waves. Each year I would get a little braver and go a little further out, but still with hesitation. I knew if I wanted to surf the waves then I needed to get away from the shallow end. As time passed, I went from ankle deep, to my knees, and then to my waist till finally up to my neck. I had to overcome my fear of the waves, fear of the current and the fear of the unknown. The Atlantic Ocean on the coast of MD is not pristine clear blue water. When I finally overcame my fear of the ocean you could not keep me out of the water. The majority of the day was spent riding the waves with a boogie board or I would body surf. My family and I would spend all day at the beach. Fear had made me miss the joy of surfing for way too long. Is fear holding you back from anything?
Fear should motivate us to move forward, not make us run away. How often do we allow fear to keep us from moving deeper with God? Especially every time He wants to do something new or bring us closer to Him. We pray for God to use us for His glory, but then we sometimes get scared of the unknown. How far, how long, where, and why? How can we one moment get so hungry for His presence, but then scared when God shows up? He is our heavenly father, what do we have to be afraid of? Fear is an emotion that stirs our adrenaline and should push us to face what is in front of us with courage. But instead, we sometimes allow fear to constrict us, bind us from stepping out for God, cowering away. God wants to take us deeper. Do not allow fear to hold you back.
In order for a surfer to catch a perfect wave they have to paddle out far into the ocean and then wait for the wave to come. If they stay on the beach and then try to run out into the ocean, they will miss their wave. You cannot catch a wave fast enough standing on the shore. If we do not venture out to the deep end we will miss God’s waves of glory. You will miss out on a lot of wonderful times when standing on the sidelines. Sometimes you have to wait for that wave. A surfer will wait for that perfect wave, but they wait in the deep end. How many times though do we get tired of waiting? We get frustrated when God says just tarry a little longer. A surfer knows if they do not wait then they will miss their wave.
Are you like the person standing on the shoreline who is afraid to venture out into the deep? Or are you the kind of person who is still treading ankle deep? Or are you bold and fearless like the big wave surfers who will go offshore to catch that perfect wave? Always ready to go out deeper, always anticipating another big wave, not wanting to miss the ride of their life.
I used to have a reoccurring vision from God of me standing on a cliff looking out into the ocean. I would have this need to jump into the water. I am not afraid of heights, but I am afraid of falling. The longer I stood on the edge of the cliff the more anticipation would kick in for me to make the plunge into the water. I would get brave and then jump into the ocean and I would hear God tell me to go under the water. I would submerge my head in the water, but each time the water was dark and murky. I would get scared of the murky water and somehow I would jump out of the water and back on to the cliff. The same scenario would happen every time I had the vision. But finally I had submerged myself in the dark murky water again and this time I was no longer scared. I trusted God and felt so much peace that I played in the water a long time. When the vision kept reoccurring, God was calling on me to step into something new. He was taking me out of my comfort zone and giving me a visual of trusting Him, and going deeper with my relationship with Him. After I had overcome my fear of the unknown, I had a boldness and confidence to step out in faith for something new. Why do we sometimes get afraid of doing a new thing? I used to not like change, I liked being content with a repetitive routine. But I had learned through life that change is a good thing. Because change equals growth!
God will send His waves to bring us peace and comfort, water that refreshes our soul. Why be afraid to go deeper with God when in the roar of His waterfalls and being swept over by God’s breaker anointing will bring comfort to our soul. God’s waves of glory will give us rest to our body and peace to our mind. Just like at the beach, there is something soothing about the sound of the ocean that brings peace, there is something calming about the aroma of the salt water that brings rest. Is your soul feeling downcast? God can do more for easing our stress levels than anything in the world. All it takes is to be swept over by His breaker waves, to soak under His waterfalls. Do not be afraid to go deeper with God. Trust Him.
In the deep end is where you will find the fullness of God and His abundance. As we go deeper in God, the more we will experience His fullness, and an abundance of His blessings, His living waters. When we come to God we should be like a sponge. A sponge cannot contain too much water. When a sponge is dried up it becomes brittle and hard. But once it is submerged in water, the sponge is fully soaked, it becomes full to the point that no matter how many times you try to ring the water out of a sponge, the sponge is still wet. God wants us to be saturated in Him. We sometimes go through life feeling just like a dried up sponge, brittle, and hardened. But when we come to God like a sponge and say, “God fill me up”, then we become saturated with His anointing. So saturated that no matter how many times the enemy tries to ring us out, we are still saturated in the goodness of God.
How thirsty are you? When we go to God thirsty then His living waters fill us up and keeps filling us up till eventually the living waters are flowing out of us. The more He gives, the more we are able to give out. We do not need to be stingy with God’s love because as we remain in Him and grow deeper with Him, the more He fills us. God’s living waters can become a constant never-ending flow in our life. And the more we give out to others the more room we have for God to fill us up again.
John 7:37-39 NKJV– 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Get ready to take the plunge! No more wading!
