Go Deep
To keep your goals from drowning in the choppy waves and gale-force winds, you are going to need scuba gear. And the willingness to try again after failure when God says, “Let’s go fishing.”
After I got saved, I met the great evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman. I told her my story of drugs, gang life, then freedom through Christ; later the Lord put on her heart to send me to Bible College. It was a fantastic opportunity; still, I was painfully nervous. I had been a junkie through my teen years and dropped out of high school. I didn’t know what it was like to study – I barely cracked a book for years. Now, I’m going to college? Thinking of all the catching up I would need to do, I felt like throwing up. Fear started to grip my heart.
As the start date approached, I began having nightmares. I dreamed the textbooks were stacked higher than my forehead, and I am a tall man. The papers on my desk kept piling up until I was drowning in deadlines and failing grades. The dreams seem silly now, but they resulted from the lack of confidence my past had handed me. Nevertheless, I wanted to study God’s Word on a deeper level, and the Holy Spirit had given me a vision for my future. I was not going to pass up this opportunity no matter how loudly my knees were knocking.
Orientation Day came quickly, and sitting with the other students, I felt even less qualified. The school president gets up in front of the incoming Freshmen to give the big, encouraging speech, the history of the school, and the rules. I don’t understand half of what he’s talking about. The speaker’s voice sounded to me like he was talking underwater. My mind was racing and wandering in a panic.
Wait. Back up. I didn’t hear a thing this guy said. What did I miss?
That is when the Lord quieted my internal storm. On the wall behind the podium was a hand-carved wooden sign. It was Philippians 4:13.
“I can do all things through Christ, who is my strength.”
I clung to that verse during my time at Latin American Bible College and throughout my life. I refuse to be satisfied engaging in only the tasks I feel qualified for. Promotion does not happen through a mindset of mediocrity.
It seems contradictory but rising above requires diving deeper into the things of God – a life fully committed and often outside our comfort zones. Sadly, there are minimum requirement believers among us.
“I’m at service every Sunday, but Wednesday is too much.”
“I accept Jesus as my Savior, but I’m not changing my whole life.”
Mature Christians will never be satisfied with kiddie-pool splashing around. To keep your goals from drowning in the choppy waves and gale-force winds, you are going to need scuba gear. And the willingness to try again after failure when God says, “Let’s go fishing.”
When Simon Peter’s crew spent the whole day throwing out their nets and coming up empty, Jesus instructed them to “launch out into the deep (Luke 5:4).” Their nets were full to breaking because of their obedience to leave their usual spot.
Go deeper, stretch beyond your comfortable, no-challenges, lazy river Christianity. This is the week to go deep and bring in a haul.
