As a child, my family and I would take multiple beach trips throughout our summer, and I remember the incredible excitement I would get soon as my feet hit the sand. I would run as fast as I could to the cool blue water, and as I got about knee deep I would either stop or run back to the shore in fear of what was beneath the water that I could not see. While my brother and Dad would go wave diving deep in the scary dark blue water, I would hang back and envy their fearless playing and enjoyment. Now, years later I still find myself stopping or running back to shore for the fear of what I cannot see. I feel as though maybe I am not alone in this act, but surrounded by a great multitude of great company. One being Jesus's own close friend, Peter.
Stepping out of a boat full of security, Peter was lead with eyes locked on Jesus, looking out over the top of treacherous water, the treacherous unknown. It is incredibly easy to look out into the uncertain and immediately feel intimidated, alone, or even fearful of the current's pull. Fear is a part of our cognitive makeup, but God has a love that has cast out fear as far as the east is from the west. Deep cries out, waiting for you to make your move; deep cries out, hoping you will choose to have faith. Deep cries out because it knows your enemies can't swim. God calls not the equipped, but the willing. If you are not daring to believe God for the impossible, you're sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian life. And furthermore, if the size of your vision for your life isn't intimidating to you, there is a good chance it's insulting to God.
The enemy has a way of making us feel as though we have fallen too far to be used or called out to deep waters, but God has a way of using the very thing that was meant to destroy us to deliver us. He has a tendency to use those who have been passed over. We often miss our destiny because we have a limited estimation of our ability, God's ability. We dream incompetent dreams, we estimate the depth of which we will walk and stop, and we charge God's possibilities with our evidence to oppose them. He is not calling you out to places He has not already walked, but to a place we have no control over so we might be reminded who is holding the sails. Abandonment of yourself occurs when you leave behind what you know. Dying before Christ is ridding yourself of all you are for all He has called you to be. Humility is stepping into your destiny based not on who you are or what you can do, but on who God is and what He can do through you.
Commitment to the wrong goals will create an illusion of progress, but it won't bring the reward of fulfillment. Finding your life doesn't occur when you have conquered your plan, but when everything you are was laid down. Having a trust that is without boarders is an incredible thing for God to ask of us because it is so very difficult for us to perform. We worry ourselves over these boarders and what lies beyond them, and all the while, He is asking us to lock eyes with Him and for our hearts to not be troubled. This concept- believe me- is one I fall short on often, but I can say without a doubt in my mind that He is greater than I am.
He is greater than my hopes and dreams.
He is greater than my fear and anxiety.
He is greater than my accomplishments and success.
He is greater than my setbacks and disappointments.
He is greater than my past, He is greater than my present, and He is greater than my future.
He is greater than my unexpectedness.
He is greater than life.
Earth couldn't understand Him, the grave couldn't hold Him, and hell couldn't seduce Him. The shore is where we die, our Christ with thee crucified. What love is this that He traded heaven to have us again, and gave His life so that we might live in Him? His love is a love that thinks enough of us to call us His beloved, and set us in deep waters of the unexpected so that we might know His love will go just that far. He does not call from the very depths to the strong or capable, but the disposed and willing. You can't fulfill your calling to the full potential God has set you while remaining on the sand that you once found comfort in as a child.
