“. . . for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 

Going Deeper

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved playing in the water—splashing, wading and eventually swimming. The creek behind our house was pretty shallow in the summer so the mud crawl was the first “stroke” I learned. By laying on my stomach I could touch the bottom with my hands which held me up and propelled me through the water as I kicked my feet like crazy. I thought I was fooling my mom when I asked her to watch me “swim.”

A few summers later I would venture out into a little deeper water, as I progressed to the dog paddle, but I still wanted to be sure I could touch the bottom with my feet if I needed to.

Years later I began feeling more comfortable in the water that was over my head as long as the bank was not too far away, because my swimming “technique” (thrashing from side to side) tired me out rather quickly.

Fast-forward several years to the joy of being taught to swim properly. With practice, swimming became enjoyable, relaxed and almost effortless. In fact I was able to participate in a two-mile swim in the lake—no bottom in sight and far from the land! I have come a long way from the mud crawl and would never dream of going back to it ever again!

Isn’t this how our walk with the Lord is? We start out “in the shallows” and gradually go deeper, trusting Jesus more and more as He invites us to “venture out into the deep.” The joy of believing and trusting His Word makes me glad that I didn’t let fear and doubt limit me to my shallow belief. Just as my swimming progressed, the Lord is taking me deeper with Him, enabling me to stay afloat by trusting in the power of His Holy Spirit.

He is the Living Water and I want to be fully immersed in Him. I want His Word to dwell in me richly. I want to be so filled with Him that no matter where He calls or what my circumstances are, I will delight and trust Him in it.

“Lord, thank You for never giving up on me, for continually drawing me to Yourself, and for working in me both to will and to do for Your good pleasure!”