The Deep
Most of us have vivid memory of the first time we stepped out of shallow water into the deep. That moment of sheer exhilaration and magical weightlessness that comes is followed by sheer panic and fear as a mouth-nose-lungful of water floods in! It may have been an accidental foray or a swimming lesson; going from the wading side of a pool past the rope that marks the deep end. Or perhaps it was a lake, the creek or salty, ocean water when your feet suddenly could not feel the stability of the bottom.
Maybe you were aware enough to fight to keep yourself afloat in that moment. In all likelihood, a rescuing hand reached out to save you from the water. Once on vacation when our kids were smaller, Dave (then about 5 or 6) decided in enthusiasm to jump into the swimming pool at the motel where we were staying. He chose the deep end. Sank like a rock. In panic, I jumped in after him… clothes, shoes, wallet and all… to grab his hand and pull him to safety.
Today may be for you (as it is for us) a time of “doing business with God in the deep.” (Psalm 107:23-24) Maybe it is a time of helpless or hopeless sinking, and you find yourself struggling to breath. The waves seem to get higher and the bottom farther away. And you await the rescuing hand of God.
He is coming. Your Savior knows where you are today. Though your circumstances may be washing over you like huge ocean waves… though stability provided by your own strength seems a thing of the past… your Deliverer sees you and is coming.
God receives the greatest glory in the “deep.” If we spent our lives wading shallow creeks or kiddie pools, we would see and know little of the glory of God because we feel that we are sufficient and our strength is enough. There is no need to trust. But as we cry out to Him in those times in the depths of life, we will find how small is our strength and how great is our God. We find that we are not forsaken or abandoned. And we find our deliverance will be accomplished…but not in our strength or by our own ability…
…only by His.
