Deep Calls out to Deep
Psalm 42:7 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.
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls...that phrase stirs my heart! The book of revelation describes Jesus' voice like "the sound of many waters." This passage in Psalm 42 is saying the more I encounter Jesus, the more I see of who He is, the more I want to see. The rest of this passage is describing God's wholehearted love for me. It says day and night I am before His face.
There is a principle in these simple sentences that has the power to change my entire life: it is that when I see how committed God is to me, it will change my heart about giving Him everything. The Bible says day and night, God is continually thinking about ME, keeping me before His face. God is completely committed to me...God is completely committed to you. God intends for this to open our eyes to what is possible in our relationship with Him.
God wants to draw me from deep to deep. Whatever level of encounter and experience I am at with God, there is more depth available, if I want it. God is so big...the experience of His presence, His wisdom, His love, His desire...these are so large it will literally take an eternity to explore an infinitely large God. You won't be bored in heaven!
But you don't have to wait until then to go deeper. Every day, if I will point my first desire to go deeper in God, then step by step, He will give me more of Him. If I will use my words to to God to demonstrate my willingness to go deeper, to open the door of my heart, He will walk through the door. This is the beginning of wholeheartedness.
There is fascination in God available to me, if I want it. But this is the trick: the enemy has set his mind to distracting me from real fascination. So I let myself be so satisfied with shallow entertainment, or the worries of the day, or the worries of tomorrow, that I never actually take the time to open the door for God.
God refuses to force His way in to my life. If I want to stand at the edge of the ocean of experiencing Him, being His, but looking back at the land the rest of the world is satisfied with, He will honor that desire. But if I will say "God, I hear there is an ocean of you to experience, will you take me deeper?" He will do it...from deep to deep.
Satan knows if I taste REAL satisfaction, even a few steps into the ocean of experiencing God, the shallow things will instantly loose their appeal.
For example: I don't need to resist watching tv to get closer to God, I need to step into the ocean of Him and taste real fascination so I can know how boring tv is compared to what God has to say to me! Discipline relies on me. Encounter relies on God. God is much more reliable than me!
Going all-in with God...allowing Him to be your dream, your vocation, your success, your entertainment...sounds crazy to most people. Many will warn you about burning out, or preparing yourself for a season where you can't "keep it going." People that warn about this have never experienced the reality of Psalm 42.
The truth is, pointing your desire to God by asking Him for more, and then letting the sound of His voice beckon you from deep to deep, will NEVER burn you out! You don't burn out by connecting yourself more to the source of life! You burn out by trying to live two lives: one in the world and one with God. You burn out standing on the beach and never getting wet.
Going all in the right way, just by steering your desire to God with your words to Him, fills you...from deep to deep, with the waves and billows of His love washing over you, and the direction, the prayer of God's song, directing you to more.
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls...that phrase stirs my heart! The book of revelation describes Jesus' voice like "the sound of many waters." This passage in Psalm 42 is saying the more I encounter Jesus, the more I see of who He is, the more I want to see. The rest of this passage is describing God's wholehearted love for me. It says day and night I am before His face.
There is a principle in these simple sentences that has the power to change my entire life: it is that when I see how committed God is to me, it will change my heart about giving Him everything. The Bible says day and night, God is continually thinking about ME, keeping me before His face. God is completely committed to me...God is completely committed to you. God intends for this to open our eyes to what is possible in our relationship with Him.
God wants to draw me from deep to deep. Whatever level of encounter and experience I am at with God, there is more depth available, if I want it. God is so big...the experience of His presence, His wisdom, His love, His desire...these are so large it will literally take an eternity to explore an infinitely large God. You won't be bored in heaven!
But you don't have to wait until then to go deeper. Every day, if I will point my first desire to go deeper in God, then step by step, He will give me more of Him. If I will use my words to to God to demonstrate my willingness to go deeper, to open the door of my heart, He will walk through the door. This is the beginning of wholeheartedness.
There is fascination in God available to me, if I want it. But this is the trick: the enemy has set his mind to distracting me from real fascination. So I let myself be so satisfied with shallow entertainment, or the worries of the day, or the worries of tomorrow, that I never actually take the time to open the door for God.
God refuses to force His way in to my life. If I want to stand at the edge of the ocean of experiencing Him, being His, but looking back at the land the rest of the world is satisfied with, He will honor that desire. But if I will say "God, I hear there is an ocean of you to experience, will you take me deeper?" He will do it...from deep to deep.
Satan knows if I taste REAL satisfaction, even a few steps into the ocean of experiencing God, the shallow things will instantly loose their appeal.
For example: I don't need to resist watching tv to get closer to God, I need to step into the ocean of Him and taste real fascination so I can know how boring tv is compared to what God has to say to me! Discipline relies on me. Encounter relies on God. God is much more reliable than me!
Going all-in with God...allowing Him to be your dream, your vocation, your success, your entertainment...sounds crazy to most people. Many will warn you about burning out, or preparing yourself for a season where you can't "keep it going." People that warn about this have never experienced the reality of Psalm 42.
The truth is, pointing your desire to God by asking Him for more, and then letting the sound of His voice beckon you from deep to deep, will NEVER burn you out! You don't burn out by connecting yourself more to the source of life! You burn out by trying to live two lives: one in the world and one with God. You burn out standing on the beach and never getting wet.
Going all in the right way, just by steering your desire to God with your words to Him, fills you...from deep to deep, with the waves and billows of His love washing over you, and the direction, the prayer of God's song, directing you to more.
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