Deeper

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Romans 11:33

One of the most amazing transitions occurs in young adults as they mature. I remember well how my opinions of my elders changed over the course of a very short period of time. As a senior in high school, I was utterly confident that my parents were out of touch with reality and that I understood how things worked far better than they did. By a few months into college, I was beginning to realize there were quite a few things I didn’t know. Before long, calling my mom was a fairly regular thing, I discovered, I had no idea what I was doing. By the time I had kids, I wanted one of my parent’s opinions for nearly every large decision I made. Wisely, they never held a bad choice over my head, but gently gave their opinion when asked and kept it to themselves when they weren’t asked.

In much the same way, I spent a lot of time feeling pretty good about my Christian walk. Turns out, I had no idea… I actually remember feeling like I was a pretty mature Christian at one point when maturity was mentioned in a sermon. In reality, I was the ultimate spiritual ‘teenager’. Feeling knowledgeable about a subject with which I had very little direct experience. The relationship with my Father has deepened immeasurably in the past year. And the thing is, I figure, I still have no idea how much better it could be. I don’t think I could spend every second for the rest of my life learning about our great God and ever come close to knowing Him the way I would like to.

When I got really honest with myself about my faith, I knew something needed to change. I often say now that I had no choice in this revival I have experienced, but in truth, I could probably have shut out God’s voice in my life. I could have continued to live my life as a marginal Christian, going to church, but taking very little of the teaching deep inside myself. He will never force us to serve him, but I honestly came to a point at which I felt like there was a fair chance that I might lose everything of value to me if I continued to run from Him. What happened for me was abject surrender. Much like that feeling of surrender that immediately proceeded my salvation experience. But, this was a surrender to service. I already had a relationship with Christ, but I had neglected it, taken it for granted, and failed to grow it. To understand deeply that God has something for each of us to do, and become completely willing to do it, whatever it is, can be incredibly freeing. Giving God complete control and listening for His voice, puts Him in charge, and takes the burden off us in a way that can be quite shocking. I have a level of peace through my daily activity that I never knew could exist. He’s got my back, and if I trust that and follow His leading, things will turn out exactly how they’re supposed to. When you take that step of faith into a deeper place of surrender and commitment with Christ, one thing quickly becomes apparent: we’re standing at the edge of an ocean of depth, and the vast majority of us are just barely getting our toes wet.

If you feel Him calling you, asking more of you, what will your response be? Are you even listening for Him? Are you willing to let Him have full control of every aspect of your life? If you don’t have a desire to know Him, do you at least want to have that desire? Turn to Him today and try Him. He is often just waiting for us to respond.

Are you ready to go deeper? Are you ready to let Him take over and lead you down the path He has for you?

Come on in! The water is great!

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