Swimming in the Deep Waters of the Spirit

Deep water feels different than shallow water. If you have ever jumped off a boat into the middle of a deep lake or out at sea, you will know what I mean. Yes, water is water, but the unknown depths beneath your dangling feet do something to your perception. For many, swimming in deep water creates a fear of the unknown. When we enter the depths of the Spirit something different takes place. We do not experience fear. We encounter awe and wonder. 

When I enter a church, and the worship is being led by the Spirit, I get the feeling that I can’t touch bottom. That depth is a place where trust is expanded and miraculous encounters take place. In some instances,  I have experienced shallow professionalism that never took us out into the deep water.  I have also experienced a sloppy ministry style that each week was defined as "we are just being led by the Spirit." Neither one got far from the dock. 

In the moments when the deep water of the Spirit was encountered, I experienced something that a well-scripted worship event or a loose leadership style could not attain. The depths of worship in those moments was an invitation to float into something more profound and awe-inspiring. Our lives must occasionally take these swims into the deep waters of the Spirit, or we will succumb to the acceptance of a wonder-less faith where our spiritual feet will always demand that we must feel the bottom. 

This is not limited to worship teams. It applies to a Fortune 500 executive leading a corporate team into a new venture, a musician taking his genre in a new direction or a single mom faithfully leading her children into a new season of life after her husband walked away. No matter our life-assignment, this boils down to a willingness to do all we can to host the Presence with as much skill, excellence, and commitment as we can muster and then diving into the deep water in faith willing to do whatever it is that God has called us to do. 

For many of you, your next season of life will be revealed in your willingness to sail your boat of faith out into the deep water of something new. In that new place, the Lord will ask you to jump out of the boat into unexplored waters where you can no longer touch the bottom of what had previously felt secure and familiar. In those moments awe and wonder will fill your heart with an unexpected buoyancy only experienced by those willing to swim in the deep waters of the Spirit.