Joy of the Journey: Dive Deep

Joy of the Journey

Dive Deep

In a world that often encourages shallow living, quick faith, surface relationships, and instant gratification, God is calling His people to something far greater. As Christians, we are not called to skim the surface of our faith but to dive deep into the depths of His presence, Word, and purpose. True transformation, power, and intimacy with God are found beneath the surface where the currents of His Spirit move.

The call to depth begins with desire.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Depth starts with desire. If our hearts are satisfied with the shallow pleasures of this world, we will never experience the richness of God’s presence. But when we hunger for more, when we long to know Him, not just know about Him, God meets us in a greater way.

The Apostle Paul expressed this same desire when he said, “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection” Philippians 3:10. Notice that Paul, though already saved and mature in faith, still longed for more of God. Depth in Christ is not about a one-time experience; it’s a lifelong pursuit. The deeper we go, the more we realize there’s still more of God to explore.  We see that Paul longs to know all of Christ, not just the victorious Jesus of the resurrection, but the Jesus who suffered.

Actual depth requires discipline.  Casual swimmers do not reach deep waters. Likewise, spiritual depth comes through intentional pursuit, i.e., prayer, study, and obedience. Paul reminded Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15.

To dive deep, we must go beyond a Sunday-morning Christianity. We must open the Word daily, listen for God’s voice, and walk in obedience even when it’s hard. Jesus said in Luke 6:47-48, “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:  he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” Notice that the man “dug deep.” That takes effort, persistence, and consistency. But when the storms came, his house stood firm because it was built on a deep foundation.  Shallow believers are easily shaken. Deep believers stand firm because they’ve anchored themselves in Christ through the daily discipline of knowing and following Him.

The Holy Spirit leads us into deeper truth.  Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would not just comfort us, but guide us into deeper understanding. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” John 16:13. The Spirit invites us beyond surface-level knowledge into divine revelation.

The early church was marked by believers who lived and moved in this depth. Acts 2:42 says, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” This devotion, this steadfast diving into truth, community, and prayer, produced power, unity, and miracles. The same Spirit who led them into deep waters is calling us there today.

In this place of depth, we find god’s glory revealed.  Psalm 42:7 declares, “Deep calls to    deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.” In this poetic picture, the psalmist experiences God’s overwhelming presence. The “deep” within us, the part of our spirit that longs for eternity, answers to the “deep” of God’s divine nature.

When we dive deep, we move past religion into relationship, past performance into presence. God’s glory is not found in the shallows of complacency but in the depths of surrender. It is there, beneath the surface of our comfort, where transformation truly happens.