Plunging to the Depths

Photo by Blake Wheeler on Unsplash 

How deep could I plunge anyway given the quantity of hot air that occupied every part of my soul?

I am much more likely to float than plumb the depths. To do other requires weight. In Greek, weight is often used with the word for proclamation, "doxa," from which we get "doxology." 

The heavier the glory that weighs us down, the deeper we go.

Deep thoughts?

Deep words?

How much time have I wasted looking and waiting for something deep to say or think when the deep waters are everywhere and everything that exists has unfathomed depts beyond the imagination to be explored?

Plunge in!

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Preparing what I thought would be a message of judgment this morning, I discovered that Luke's emphasis (and that of Jesus) was a message of hope. 

Even when there are no signs of life in the tree, the Gardener gives another year --- and lovingly tends the tree to eek out the life that no one else sees but He still believes may be there.

In a message of judgment and destruction, imagine this main message is: God still believes in you.

Perhaps you'd consider returning the favor!

As you are plunging into the depths, do so with hope and compassion for yourself and others.

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We flinch against a new norm that normalizes the tendency to exchange value for worthless pursuits. Thus is the description of idolatry. On one hand is a God who is a fount of fresh, cool water and, on the other, leaking cisterns.

And we gravitate toward the leaky novelties.

" Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water."
(Jeremiah 2:12-13 ESV)

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Here is the ticket in the thicket.

Not today, but some days, I have been on the same page as the psalmist who said,

"My soul is cast down within me ... " (Psalm 42:6 ESV)

But he did not stop there. In the next breath he declares, "therefore I remember you ..."

That is the ticket! 

You are you are plunging into the depths.

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In times of decline, we seek the Divine Incline.
Perceived or received, something declines for us,
And lofty edifices of our pride sink low.
Yet we ...
The "we" that is truly "us ..."
Shall not decline His inclination toward restoration.
Poor and needy
When greedy fires are consuming the underbrush of our lives,
From hesitation to preservation, His salvation
Rescues our souls.
From sadness to gladness we are lifted,
By grace, gifted ...
For God is good! In this we have stood!
God is forgiving! Thus, our living!
God is abounding in covenant love!
Chesed!
Give ear, Oh Lord.
Give Your full attention and intervention
To our plea for grace!
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound!"
It is the day of trouble ...
For me ...
For many ...
We stand upon the precipice.
We cry for mercy.
Oh LORD, answer, please.

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And the Psalmist Said

"Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me."
(Psalm 86:1-7 ESV)

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As you pray, you are you are plunging into the depths.

You may be moving into some new, unknown, precarious, and frightening territory in your life. You are proceeding with caution and trepidation. It is a place where you must go, but you do not know the terrain or the hidden agendas of these new days .

All you know is Who is with you and leading you ...

... and that is enough.

" And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said,'Here I am.' Then he said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.'"

"Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him."
(Genesis 46:2-5 ESV)

It was all the assurance that Jacob needed to set out and follow the path set before him into the vast unknown.

It is all we need.

God bless you in your NEW journey ... for each day is a NEW JOURNEY!

By faith, you are plunging into the depths.
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