Your life is a journey, travel with a deep consciousness of God. (1)

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Peter had been fishing all night and had not caught any fish.  He was tired and frustrated.  Empty nets left him hungry and poor.

Jesus told him to cast the nets in deep water. (Luke 5:4) He did and the nets almost burst with fish.

I find it strange that a fishermen had not thought of casting his nets into deep water.  Fish swim in deep water, rather than at the surface.  This is why fishermen keep secret the location of their fishing hole.

Unsatisfied people spend their lives in shallow water.  They hunger for more in life, but they never toil in deep waters.  Their impoverished lives are spent skimming the surface.  Watching Days of Our Lives is the highlight of their life.

Many Christians never go deep.  It shows in the emptiness of their nets.

Fish are found in deep water.  Spiritual nourishment comes from going deep with God.

When a hurricane moves across the ocean, the surface of the sea is tossed as waves heave into the sky before crashing back into the sea.  Closer to land, these waves swamp the beach, wash away foundations, and destroy everything on the surface.

In contrast to this trauma, upheaval, and destruction, in the waters deep below the surface there is no storm.  The creatures deep in the sea remain unscathed.  The hurricane does not touch them.

Christians who never go deep with God, whose faith is nothing more than a facade glued to the face, are terrified by the storms of life.  It only takes one gust of wind or one tumultuous wave for them to declare that God has abandoned them.

In contrast, Christians who dwell in The Word, who pray in the Spirit, who get in over their heads with God, are not disturbed by these minor storms.  In fact, the storms barely register in their heart and mind.

We have been given a heaven-born nature that responds to spiritual nourishment. This occupation with heavenly values enables us to rise above the storms that often cross our paths. (2)

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (3)

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1. Eugene H. Peterson, The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 2002), 1 Peter 1:18.

2. (2) Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace : 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1990), 70.

3. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Colossians 3:1–3.