Living in the "deep"

Matthew 14:22-33

 (NIV)

Jesus Walks on the Water

 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.  Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”

 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

This is a long post, so if you have a few minutes grab something to drink and settle into a comfy spot and follow me on this journey.

 If you have been following me at all or know me personally, you may have sensed that something has been stirring in my heart/mind.

Let me start by defining a few words.

Journey: act of traveling from one place to another

Growth: the process of growing or maturing physically, mentally, or spiritually

Refining: Remove impurities or unwanted elements from (a substance), typically as part of an industrial process.

Fear: An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

 Let me just say we are all on a journey.  

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and want to follow Him, then I believe at some point in this journey, ok I take that back, at multiple points in this journey there are forks in the road where He is calling us to make a choice to follow and trust Him completely, or continue on trusting Him only in the areas that feel safe.

Let me just say this journey has been filled with beautiful blessings, areas of great growth and trust.

These past few months have had me so consumed by my own fears.

 Fear of so many things. 

Some I understand and others I can’t even begin to wrap my head around.

This journey we call life.

Have you ever heard of the Christian speaker and author Angie Smith? 

 Well she has some great stuff out there!

I was listening to a devotion by her not that long ago.

It was about living in the deep. 

 She explains how we can spend our life building sandcastles in the sand where it is safe. 

We begin to create safe places in our minds and our hearts.  

 But when something happens in life and we get carried out to the deep, where our feet are dangling and we want nothing more than to go back to the sandcastles where we feel safe.  

 Instead our feet continue to dangle and the wind stirs up the waves and we begin to panic.  

 It feels as if we just might be taken under. 

 She goes on to talk about how sometimes God is calling us to live right where you are in the deep.  The reason for that is because in the deep is where we can truly experience a trust for God.  

 To really let go and surrender.   

She ends the devotion by saying this….

Sometimes God says to us, “You need to move away from what is “safe” to really see me.”  If that means living in the deep for a period of time then don’t panic, instead choose to glorify Him while you are there!

I sat in my truck listening to this and tears began to stream down my face.  I could totally relate.   

She nailed exactly what I was feeling at that moment.

  It’s easy to surrender and trust when your feet are warm in the sand and the walls around your heart are just high enough to keep the bad out, isn’t it? 

 But not so easy when we are fighting for air in the deep and the waves are just about to overtake us!

It is then when you feel as if you have sunk and the waves have taken over.

The very walls we build around our hearts to protect ourselves, can be the very walls God wants to break down to free us from a life of “safe” to a surrendered life of trust in Him completely!

I say I trust God, and I do, believe me, I know with all my heart He wants the best for me and all those that seek Him.  But do I trust God when I am in the “deep” and He is breaking down my walls.  Let me tell you He is opening my eyes and showing me that I trust my fears/circumstances more than I trust His truth in the “deep”.

We live in a world that has been corrupted by sin.  

There is destruction and things to fear all around us, death, sickness, murder, natural disasters, divorce, mental illness, physical illness, our own self talk, addictions, hurts, pain, infertility, wayward children or parents, this list could continue and continue!!!

As a follower of Christ, we know that ALL things work to glorify our Savior, but Satan wants nothing more than to paralyze our body and consume us with our fears.  

In Mathew 14: 22-33 Peter steps out in faith and is walking on water, but as soon as the wind picks up he takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to focus on his circumstances around him.  In that very moment he begins to sink.  He cries out, “Lord save me”.  Just then Jesus reaches out and saves him, but not without saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt”.

This has been playing in my head the last few weeks. 

 I know God has been placing it there so I could begin to see how my focus was shifting to circumstances rather than His face.

Are you in the deep right now?  

Perhaps your busy building sandcastles in the sand and your to busy to see He is calling you into the deep. 

 Either way I encourage you to live right where He wants you.

For me it has been in the deep. 

 So deep that I thought I was losing sight of my sweet Saviors face, but as I began to sink and gasp for air I reached up to find His hand had been reaching for mine the whole time.  I was to busy looking at the circumstances to see it though!

When we are in the deep, that is when Jesus is calling us to step out and remain focused on Him.  But so often we do exactly what Peter did and we begin to focus on the circumstances that are around us.

For me my circumstances are fear of losing control, letting Him break down walls that I built my life around (protection), watching my mom spiral out of control due to addiction (and realizing I am powerless and I can’t fix it for her), beginning to question why I ever thought it was all about me!!!!!  

I was reaching for Jesus to fix these problems the way I saw Him fixing them, even though I thought I was trusting Him completely, I was reaching out because of the fear that controlled my heart.  

If I remained in Him then I wouldn’t have to face these fears, I could just give them to him, right?  Well yes in some ways, but friends we still need to deal with it!!  

We can only suppress feelings so long until they began to control us.

As Beth Moore says, “You need to deal with your stuff, otherwise your stuff deals with you”!!

Boy she nailed that one

What could your circumstances be?   

Where in your heart do you have walls?

Where in your deep is He calling you to trust Him completely?

Or

Is He calling you to step out of living in the “safe” so you can really experience the life He has designed for you?

Friends this life is hard,  but if we continue to build our sandcastles in the sand where it is warm and safe, we may never know the need we have for our Savior and the complete love our Savior has for us out there in the deep.  

We NEED Him. 

 There is nothing we can do to be closer to Him

.  We don’t need to prove to Him that we can handle this life. 

 The fact is, we can’t handle this life without completely trusting Him in every circumstance we face.

Just ask Him, He will show you the areas you haven’t surrendered to Him yet. 

Remember as He begins to break down the walls of our hearts, He is helping us to face some dark areas.  

 He doesn’t say it will be easy.

Coming from experience it is hard and it can be an area filled with lots of questions. 

 It is an area where the lies we have built certain beliefs around collide with His truth and only one can win.

His Truth, but we have to be willing to let it win.

Friends it is easy to live a life of safe, but there may come a point when He says to you, “It is time to follow me into the deep”.

 Let Him take you there and as He begins to work on breaking down the walls of your heart and the waves begin to overtake you, take a deep breath, and when you feel like you have just went under, look up to see His sweet face. 

Reach up and take hold of our promise and breath.

Don’t run back to where it feels “safe”. 

Let Him be your light and truth when the “deep” feels dark and unsafe.

We can live our life questioning or we can live a life fully alive and trusting!

Make a choice with me to live fully alive in Christ my dear friend......

Thank you lord for this beautiful life!

Psalms 16:5-8

 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance. 

 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.