Go Deeper

 

  Go Deeper

“Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power in us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” Ephesians 3:20

Paul has become a reminder for me living in the body of Christ that I am never alone knowing the empowerment of Holy Spirit is present and active and working. I often forget and coming back to God’s truth is something that will settle something within my heart and mind, a deeper understanding that I could ever experience on my own. It isn’t dependent on my understanding but remembering that God’s promises still remain even as unsteady as that can feel sometimes. I am learning it is hard to walk in deep waters but that grows my dependence on God alone.  

So many things stood out to me that week at camp but one of those reminders I felt in a way that I hope I will never forget.  As I walked out of the dorm having nothing in me from no sleep that night before I was met by an unexpected torrential downpour as my group of girls and I made our way to the dining hall for breakfast. It was a short walk thankfully but even my raincoat couldn’t stop soaking my clothes and the deep puddle we encountered on the way ended up soaking my socks and shoes. I remember as we stepped out the door to encounter that unexpected downpour I thought, “Really Lord, it wasn’t enough I lost all my sleep now I am going to be drenched in rain?” As we entered the dining hall the water from our clothes did not find a new place to reside as I watched the kids slipping and sliding on the water on the floor.  I took a seat at the table watching from a distance, some of them dropping food thinking this is bad but not wanting to show that smiled as if this was the norm. The storms ended up keeping us in that dining hall much longer than we anticipated but it was an opportunity to continue to keep encouraging them even as we continued to see the mess before us and feel that soaked rain on us that couldn’t be dismissed. 

I wasn’t the only leader that experienced this unexpected downpour but as I caught up later that day at a meeting one lady shared what she witnessed when the rain stopped. She too had experienced this moment of unbelief but then she saw pure joy on the students' faces playing in those same deep puddles that soaked our shoes. And just like me she was coming out to serve in a way that was out of her comfort zone that was teaching her growing deeper meant that joy wasn’t based on her circumstances. 

What if what grows me deeper is something that doesn’t feel joyful?  

I think the enemy of my mind wants to make sense of things when they feel hard. That day was hard but there were so many moments God showed up that couldn’t be explained. A peace that surpassed all my understanding. A strength that couldn’t be explained even as everything in me physically was fighting against allowing that to show. And if I had stopped at the drench clothes and felt defeated I wouldn’t have experienced the body of Christ  coming around me in a way that I knew I was never alone. 

So what if growing deeper meant allowing all of it? 

Going deeper is knowing God is with us.