Launch Out Into The Deep预览

What Is Your Ocean?

I love to stand on the seashore and look out as far as my eyes can take me on the vast ocean as it stretches to meet the sky, and the thoughts of what is contained deep within the ocean ravish my mind. The ocean is beautiful but I have always had a fear of the deep, being surrounded by so much water, with so many unknowns that challenge my ability to be in control, and that is a feeling I don't like. I know from reading books, stories I've been told, movies and documentaries I've watched, they all tell me there is so much more to see and experience in the deep, but my fear of losing control, my fear of not seeing or navigating my way, the fear of being open to attacks keeps me from venturing out for more. Have you ever felt this way? The ocean is just an example of the width and depth of the life God has for us as believers; the ocean gives us a visual of the inexhaustible life of grace, love, mercy, kindness, blessings, and opportunities that awaits us when we enter new life with Christ. 

What is your ocean today? What do you see when you stand on the shores of your life and look out till your ocean meets the horizon? What opportunities await you in the deep? What fears plague your minds as you stand contemplating should I turn and walk away or should I launch out and trust God? The ocean is one of Earth's most valuable natural resources; it provides food in fish, it's used for transportation, it provides a treasured source of recreation for humans and great beauty, and great wealth exists in the deep. If we are not venturing out into the deep, it means we are in the shallow, and there is not much to explore in the shallow. There is no depth, and our view of life becomes superficial when we remain where we are in control. Nothing of significance can grow, survive, or be sustained in the shallow because the waves of life will always wash away and diminish that which had no roots. 

You were not created to spend your whole life on the sandy shores watching others venture out into the deep while you only dream of what "could be." God has placed an ocean size dream in our hearts for our lives, and it's a life that hinges on faith in him. While we may not know or have all the facts, directions, pit stops, obstacles, storms, and attacks we rest in the ONE who made the ocean and has written the script for our lives. Perhaps you have never viewed your life as an ocean before, but I believe you did not choose this plan by chance. God wants to speak to you today to expand your view, to take the limits off, shatter the fear that has kept you back and trust him in this next phase of your life. 

"We gain strength and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face...we must do that which we think we cannot." –Eleanor Roosevelt