Not being much of a swimmer, I’m relying on what I was taught about the effects of pressure on the body during deep water diving. The weight of the water above a diver exerts pressure on his body. The deeper a diver descends, the more water he has above and the more pressure it exerts on his body. The pressure a diver experiences at a certain depth is the sum of all the pressures above him, both from the water and the air.
As I recall my desire to go deeper with the Lord after awaking from my lung removal surgery, I remember thinking it won’t be easy. It never is. Seeking hard to follow after Jesus means having the compulsion, the innate and overwhelming desire to know Him and make Him known. The conviction to stand out from the crowd, go against the grain and swim upstream (figuratively speaking in my case) goes with the territory. The world seeks moral relativism. Jesus teaches He is the absolute truth, the life and the way to Heaven. (John 14:6) The world seeks to silence the voice of the Lord in the public arena. As Jesus was riding into Jerusalem He answered those who told him to keep His disciples quiet by saying, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:40) Disciples of the Lord are supposed to be enthusiastic about their King, not to earn points or win favor, but because they love Him.
I’d hoped my trial with cancer and the Lord’s determination to essentially resurrect me from the dead would resonate so much so by those who witnessed it that they too would want to know more about this God I serve. Not necessarily. There are many examples of people in the Scriptures who offended others by speaking the truth about God and some were even killed for it, like the deacon Stephen in the first century church. (Acts 6) Going deeper with God entails pressure to keep pressing on, knowing the love of God never fails. Some may think, ‘oh you’ve been through all cancer can throw at you – isn’t that enough?’ It’s important at such a juncture to remember we will have trouble in this world but fear not – Jesus has overcome this world (John 16:33).
If you, like I, have seen God work an awesome miracle in your life it’s a reflexive response to tell others what He has done for you. Rely on what I call the stones of remembrance in your journey thus far. Ask the Lord to bring to mind all the times He has helped you ‘swim up to the surface’ when the pressure of the water made it slow going. If your time of tribulation has seemed to keep your body bound by the effects of disease or other life concerns, remember Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world and though this body of flesh will wear out, Heaven is a place without crying, pain or death. (Revelation 21:1-9) Though we live in the world, we are not to be “of the world.” Those who belong to Jesus Christ are supposed to be different; a peculiar people. Why? Because we preach the good news that One Man, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ paid the sin debt for all men on the bloody cross. As we are dying to self and the things of the world, we are to let the Holy Spirit rule and reign in us, remembering our citizenship is in Heaven, convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:33-39)
Yes, I want to go deeper with God no matter what because it’s so worth it for the sake of the One who set me free from sin and death; the greatest miracle of all! Lord, help me to remember You are there each step of the way. Amen.
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