Don't Fear Deep Water

This blog pertains to the following bible reading plan passages: Luke 2-5, Proverbs 23, Psalms 116-117. 

The deep sea makes up 95% of the earth’s living space, but – as you have probably already heard somewhere – we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deep sea. In some places on our planet, the ocean floor is so deep that if you put Mt Everest on it, it would still have a mile of water above it. 

Deep sea officially starts at 1000 meters below the surface, the midnight zone, where no sunlight can penetrate, is home to some of the planet’s most incredible creatures, getting on with life at a pressure that can be hard to fully comprehend. Try this – at the deepest parts of our oceans, the pressure per square meter is the equivalent to the weight of 50 jumbo jets. And creatures live there. 

Deep water is awe inspiring and more than a little intimidating for a species that struggles to hold a breath for 3 minutes. Even our most deadly technologies - let’s consider a nuclear submarine - operates at depths of 300-600 meters (If you’re curious, pilot whales and sperm whales can swim and alongside them at this depth, all while holding their breath). My watch tells me that it can withstand 200 meters of water pressure, but if I ever come close to testing that, whether my watch is working will be the least of my problems. 

Luke’s account in chapter five makes me thing about deep water – not just the physical environment, but what happens when we get out of the easy shallows in our relationship with God and venture into a deeper, up ‘till now unexplored faith and intimacy with the Lord. 

In the chapter, Jesus encouraged the disciples to go and sail into deep water. Fishermen - using their own experience and the wisdom of generations of family - knew to fish in the shallows at night. Image hearing a carpenter telling you – a fisherman from a family of fishermen - to fish in deep water…far from the shore, far from easy help and usually far from successful. 

And yet we know this account. Simon Peter’s reply is ‘Master, we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.’ The result is a catch so miraculous that Simon Peter falls to his knees and says, ‘Oh Lord, please leave me – I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.’ We don’t know how many people scoffed when Simon Peter, James and John went out in broad daylight to fish in deep water, but perhaps some of those scoffers were also amazed at the fruit of obeying Jesus. 

What do we do when we realise that God is calling you into deep water? How do we respond to the pressure we feel might overwhelm us? It could be a step of faith about healing; finally having that God centred conversation with a friend or member of the family. Perhaps it’s joining a Grow Group or stepping away from a habit. It might feel…dangerous, reckless even. We might worry about the pressure. But if the Master has asked us to do it, we can be confident that there will be an amazing catch and that if the nets are full to breaking, help will be at hand. He created life to flourish under immense physical pressure, and He lives within you to make sure that you can move into deep water knowing even if we are hard pressed, we will not be crushed, and if we are perplexed, we will not be driven to despair (2 Corinthians 4:8 NIV). Trust God and move into deep water. He’s hasn’t just got you covered… He’s got you filled.