Psalm 42:8 (Hebraic Roots Version) – “Deep calls unto
deep at the voice of Your cataracts; all Your waves and Your billows are gone
over me.”
Psalm 42:7 (King James Version) – “Deep calleth unto deep
at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy
waves and thy billows are gone over me.”
Mentally, I’m a very deep person. I analyze everything to death. It makes me a good writer because I
understand how different people think. I’m
a truth seeker by nature. I need to know
things. I will stand by what I
absolutely know to be right, even if a thousand stand against me. I do this because I have gone deep. I have spent the time and effort to determine
truth, and I will not leave its side once that truth has been found. I am glad that God put this in me and
consider it to be a strength of will and a strength of character.
I can easily and willingly go deep into any subject that
I care to analyze.
Emotionally though, that’s another matter. I am not a people person by any stretch of
the imagination. I entered drama in high
school as a means of combatting my shyness.
It worked, in a sense. I can now
stand in front of ten thousand people in a leotard and speak Shakespearean
English without a pause or a blush. But
I still can’t talk to you one on one about my dreams and desires. I can’t discuss my innermost secrets and
fears and I don’t care to listen to yours.
(Unless, of course, we’re analyzing them together.)
This is my problem.
I can study history and see where we went right and where we went
wrong. I can break down scripture and
find hidden treasures that Yahweh placed there for us to find. I can explore the philosophies and religions
of men and point out their flaws and miscalculations. But I cannot easily sit and be quiet with my
God. I find it difficult to go deep into
Him in this way. This is what I struggle
with which I believe is why He wants me to know Him more in this way. It’s easy (or easier anyway) to know his
mind. But I really need to know His
heart.
Deep calls to deep.
Yahweh God is infinitely deep. That
deepness is calling out to the deep part of each of us for a deep, fulfilling
relationship while we try to stay shallow.
While I stand sharing with Him what I thought about the latest
blockbuster movie to hit the cinema, He’s trying to reveal His heart to
me. While I’m asking what to have for
lunch, He’s asking who I really am in a way that reveals to me that I don’t
understand the real answer to that question.
Deep calls to deep.
God is looking for much more than most of us are willing to give
Him. We want to keep things shallow like
a one-night-stand relationship. We want
the pleasure that He offers us, but we don’t want the commitment. We want to see Him as a Santa giving, giving,
giving, and only taking our feeble milk and cookies in return.
Martin is looking for deep in a shallow world. He wants to dive in, he’s just not sure
how. Once he’s given the way in, it
frightens him a little and he has to ask himself just how badly he wants
it. Through Martin’s struggle to know
God more deeply, I hope to encourage the readers who have the same hunger to
know God that deeply but are struggling with understanding how that’s possible. Much of Christianity as we know it is limited
to the shallow end of the pool when there’s so much more that He has to offer
us. If you’re looking to go deeper with
God, no matter what looks like it’s in your way, He will reveal His depth to
those who truly seek Him.
The only real question is, how deep are you willing to
go?
Scott Snyder
