Deeper Takes Time
“Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.” Psalm. 42:7
I love turtles. I know that is not very manly, but I really love them. Turtles are absolutely the picture of cool and awesome to me.
Several years ago, Beth and I were shopping in Gatlinburg, and I saw a small metal turtle in a store with these words on it, “Slow down. Love takes time.” From that moment on, I fell in love with the whole world of turtles.
The reason for my fascination and passion for these reptiles is in those words.They represent slowing down to grow in love: a great need in my life.
During our last trip to Belize, our team took a morning to snorkel on the beautiful reef just off the coast. We all got outfitted with masks, fins and snorkels and got our safety briefings. Then we dove in.
Within seconds of hitting the water, my joy level went through the roof! There below us in about 15 feet of water was a beautiful young green sea turtle. He was slowly munching on his breakfast of plants on the sea floor. His shell was gorgeous, a true work of God’s creative art.
What happened next frustrated me. I could only hold my breath for so long, so I had to keep resurfacing to go get more air. I could stay a few seconds down there with my new turtle friend, and then I would have to leave him to go get more oxygen. I hated leaving my buddy down there!
In thinking a lot about “Deeper and More” lately, I’ve come to see our need for God in similar terms as this experience I had with my turtle friend. We need more time with God. God is deep. In fact, His deep is continuously calling out to our deep places for more connection and relationship.
The problem is my workload, the distractions, the activity of life keeps pulling me back to the surface of my life. I need to develop more intentionality and proactivity to stay deep with God. I need some spiritual SCUBA gear in order to go deep and stay deep in my alone times with God.
Here are a couple thoughts on how to go deep and stay deep for longer periods with the Lord.
Slow down. Remember the turtle. They don’t appear to be in a hurry to do anything. Learn from them. Love takes time. Loving God more takes time. Eliminate or prune from your life activities that are not fruitful (like too much Youtube, TV or silly video games on you phone). Take that time and schedule some down time to just read your Bible, sit before the Lord, and listen for His voice.
Take control of your calendar. Put the big rocks of “quiet, alone time with God”, into your jar. Don’t make excuses, make proactive choices. If God and your relationship with God is a priority, then follow that up with scheduling time to go deeper with Him. Make the choice. Write it down. What gets scheduled gets done.
God’s Deep is calling out to the deep inside of you. Listen to His call. Respond to His call.
Remember my turtle buddy. If I had a SCUBA tank, I could have hung out with him for a lot longer. Ask the Holy Spirit to outfit you with a fancy new SCUBA capability to spend long, glorious seasons with the Father in prayer and fellowship. The More is in the Deeper!
Pastor Tom