deeper.

Life has its ups and downs. It has its successes and failures. Often I find myself focusing on those “failures” but I also find that a lot of the time I’m the only one who may see something as a failure. Some days those so called failures try to drag me down, and sometimes they do. That’s the honest truth. Then I stop and look at all the wins along the path, those little wins may add up to something big and noteworthy or they may just keep you moving forward looking for the next win.

I also believe with every one of those disappointments I have put myself “out there” in a place of risk to even come to a place where I may fail. Without taking those risks, I’m living in a safe place. If anything I’ve learned this last year it is that Jesus has NOT called me to live the safe, risk-free life. He has called me higher. He has called me deeper. He wants more of me with every step along the way, the risks become bigger and those failures even more evident.

Do you ever find yourself in a great place with God then it seems the walls start to fall around you? Those safety walls were never meant to stay up. He’ll let you rest for a time safely, but then He’ll call you back out again. Back on the road less traveled, back out where the walls won’t save you. Out where risks can be taken, where you have to trust Jesus with all that you are. Out where you have to go deeper with him, and if you don’t you’ll probably end up at the beginning, running back to the safety instead of building a new refuge in the deepness of Him.
He never said that you’ll succeed at everything. But he does say that he’ll fight for you, you just have to be still. Wait. Be still? Where does that fit in? It fits into the place where you’re trying to do everything for your win instead of trusting his plans. I bet it’s pretty hard to be still when there is a battle raging around you. Imagine giving him that control though… Could you do it? Have you done it? Do you need to do it?
Go deeper with him, give him all control, just be still. As I was reading this morning I came across the story of Jehoshaphat when the “vast armies of Edom” were coming to fight him and his army. (2 Chronicles 20) His army wasn’t big, it wasn’t strong, his army was no match for the armies coming toward him. He stopped and cried out to The Lord, he had all his people do this, and a Word from The Lord came down. Go to battle, step out, march out and you won’t fight, but just be still. By the time they got there, all of the other armies had turned on each other and almost everyone was already dead. They just had to step out in Faith and watch God work around them. They only had to go where he called them, then be still. Talk about going deeper in your trust of what you hear from The Lord!

The risk is worth it, He’ll be by your side, he won’t leave you. Go deeper, go to that place, he wants you to join him in the depths of his love that you’ve never experienced. Spend time with him, talk with him, listen to him and then obey. That’s where the depth is.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14 NIV)