Worship, Deep Calls Unto Deep


Ps 42:7
Deep calls to deep
Our walk with God is a walk is a progression that should lead us to a deeper walk with Him.

However, there are times when we, much like the Psalmist go through our dark nights of the soul when our desperation seems to go so deep that we can never reach the bottom.
It would be nice if our walk with the Lord progressed in a straight line where we moved to ever increasing heights of joy in His presence. The fact is that our lives more resemble the graph of a volatile stock with peaks and valleys along the way.
David himself recalls those peaks when he, “used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.” (Ps 42:4) If we’ve given our lives over to our Lord and Savior we have all experienced the sublime ecstasy of His grace the presence of His Spirit. We have tasted of the goodness of our God.
Even the healthiest Christian is tested. Even the most stalwart is thrown a curve and feels keenly the pain that this world has to offer as a consequence of sin; original or personal. Death, illness, broken relationships and disappointments leave their imprint on our hearts.
As humans this pain cuts deeply and we are thrown off balance by the assault on our soul. Jesus Himself felt the pain of losing His friend to the tomb. He felt the agony of facing the cross and felt the despair of His Father turning away from Him as He bore our sins.
Sorrow weighs heavily upon us.
It is at these times that we need to encourage ourselves.
Ps 42:5-6
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
God has deposited within us a reservoir of His love, mercy and grace that is accessible for withdrawals in times of need. But first, we need to go deep with Him. We need to worship Him for who He is and for what He has done in our lives. It is during these time when our worship is more than human emotion or mere surrendering of our will. Our worship is the response of God’s Spirit within us to that Spirit in Him that cries out, “Abba, Father”. It is deep calling out to deep.
The verse goes on to say, “…in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” (Ps 42:7)
The visual is that of going against something much bigger than ourselves that throws us off balance and swallows us up.
I remember my last trip to Puerto Rico where I found myself at Jobos Beach. The water got deep very quickly and the waves coming off the Atlantic were big and powerful. I tried walking in because I was going to attempt to go body surfing but the current was so strong it swept me off my feet and I was swallowed up by a huge wave that sent me tumbling toward the shore. For a moment I didn’t know which way up. All I knew was that I was not in control and that I was completely immersed and surrounded by water. I was completely helpless. I was along for the ride.  I could surrender or fight it. It would make little difference as I was at its mercy. I chose to surrender and let it take me until it deposited me back on the sand of the beach. As I caught my breath and coughed up the salt water I had inhaled I realized that in the moment everything else had faded away and all I could do was hang on for the ride. I was at the mercy of something bigger and stronger than myself.
Deep calls unto deep.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Theology of the Holy Spirit

Image
  I haven’t written in my blog for a while now. However, seeing as the point of this stream is to talk about Spirit-led Living, I feel that there is something that I must address. Growing up I would read the New Testament and I formed a theology based on what I read on its’ pages. I believed that it was true, and I also believed that those things were not only for then, but also for today. Through the years as I was involved with several denominations, Wesleyan, Free Methodist, Assemblies of God, and Grace Brethren among others; I never felt that I could sign on the dotted line to become a member as agreeing with all their doctrinal positions. While I agreed with a large portion of what they believed, they all had doctrinal points that I felt were not Biblical. It wasn’t until I came upon the Vineyard that I felt that I found my tribe. From the Evangelicals I took a deep reverence for the Gospel and the Word as the inspired, inerrant word of God and the litmus test for all that we ...
Read more

Transparency

So, at her goodbye party, Michelle challenged us to be more transparent. Here goes my first attempt. I don’t usually write about my personal life on Facebook, both because I am a private person and second because I’m always concerned about what people will think. One of my shortcomings is that I have always been a people pleaser. As such, I tend to stay away from personal or controversial topics. No more. The time has come to take a bold personal stand for the sake of Christ. I am passionately in love with Jesus. However, I don’t always live that way. I have my struggles and if I want Him to stand up for me on Judgment Day; I need to stand for Him now. While I have a wonderful wife who is my best friend, I don’t have any close male friends and I struggle with loneliness. I have tried to reach out to guys but unless I initiate interactions, those relationships tend to go nowhere. I finally realized that if I want a friend, I am going to have to open up to someone and t...
Read more

Transparency - Part 2

First, I want to thank those of you who have given me feedback and told me to keep going. It really has been encouraging. As Pastor Karl continues his series on “Beating the Devil With his Own Stick”, he challenged us to look at the lies the enemy has spoken to us. Some of us have bought into these lies, but if you are like me, they are just there below the surface. We don’t think about them consciously all that much, but they are like those nasty noseeums that buzz around your head when you’re mowing the lawn. I’ve got a couple of favorite ones that tend to hang on in the back of my mind. “Your father was a failure and so are you.” My father started a number of businesses all which folded within a couple of years. He also planted over 10 churches in his lifetime. Most never grew beyond 50-60 people. I have no idea if any of them still exist today. Counting JesusChurch, this is my 5 th church plant that I have been a part of and none of the previous 4 still exists today. ...
Read more