Going Deeper
Habitually, as a church in the centre of Belfast at the commencement of each new year, we set aside a specific time to embark upon a period of Prayer and Fasting. This is usually over twenty one or forty days. Of course you do not have to wait until a ‘special’ time of Prayer and Fasting is called for, but can ‘seek His face’ at any time. Experience has taught us that during these periods we are brought into a deeper and more intimate relationship with the living God, both individually and collectively.
I often find myself reflecting on Psalm 42:7 which speaks of “Deep calling to deep”. At its core, it speaks of ‘depth responding to depth’, being the intense places within a person answering the profound movements of God, truth, longing, or suffering. This is not a light or shallow experience, but speaks of longing, surrender, and transformation, where God meets us beyond words, where “The Spirit Himself intercedes… with groanings too deep for words.” - (Romans 8:26).
When ‘deep meets deep’, faith moves from knowledge to knowing, pride is stripped, self-reliance weakens and intimacy with God increases.
Fruitfulness flows from abiding, not striving, and busyness in ministry can feel spiritual because it’s filled with good things, yet it can subtly replace being with God with working for God. Scripture gently warns us of this tension: “You are worried and distracted by many things, but one thing is necessary” - (Luke 10:41–42).
I’ve heard that even today, through geological processes, there are parts of the world’s oceans which have never been plummeted due to their intense depth. In a similar way to those unexplored parts of the world’s oceans it would be my strong desire that together we plunge deeper into the things of God, going where we have never been before.
David and the sons of Korah who had been exiled with him had lost their equilibrium, and they felt as if recurring waves of trouble had plunged their souls into a bottomless ocean of sorrow and despair. The Word ‘Deep’ as conveyed here, can also be interpreted as the psalmist expressing the fact that his soul was in deep need of God. A deep need calls for a deep remedy, and the songwriter is seen calling out from his place of profound need for the unfathomable greatness of God.
With the pressure of our modern day life on leaders to appear strong or self-sufficient, the psalmist gives us permission to cry out truthfully. We are reminded that faith includes honest prayer, and that, far from God being offended by desperate prayer, He longs for us to be open and real before Him as we cry out to Him with our real fears, confusion, and needs.
Augustine once stated, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You,” suggesting that only God can satisfy the deepest longings of the heart. The “deep” of God’s holiness, love, and mystery calls to the “deep” within us as the soul longs for communion, not explanations.
Throughout the remainder of this year may you rest in the assurance that in moments of fear, confusion, or need, you can cry out to God confidently, as “deep calls out to deep”, knowing He hears and responds with mercy.
From the depth of his despair, the psalmist found help in the depth of God’s goodness, and he was able to say in conclusion, “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Saviour and my God.” - (Psalm 42:11).
On your journey as a leader may you venture into spiritual depths you would never have imagined possible in pursuit of the expanse of His love, and as you do so, may God bless you,….real good!
David J. Patterson