OCEANS

I love music, the beautiful way it transcends and sets the mood. Every beautiful lyric is crafted to make you think something, feel something, and be reminded of something. It is no wonder that when we sing to God, we are moved to expressions of worship that demonstrate an inward surrender outwardly.

I was listening to the song Oceans by Hillsong United recently. It is one of those songs that beautifully shows this picture of God calling us into the unknown. With each lyric, it sails towards the idea that someday God will call each person to take a step that we don’t feel equipped to take. It is not self-determination that will enable us to take the step, but a deep relationship with God and an awareness of his spirit as our compass.

In stories of the Old Testament and the New Testament, we see how God guided his people towards steps and paths they could never have imagined on their own, and they would never have been able to achieve what they did on their own.

Pastor Wale spoke to us about the new normal and emphasized that in this new season, God will be calling each of us to something new. The question is whether we will be bold enough to take the step on water and trust his heart even when we can’t see his hand.

Today, I ask that you ponder this passage in Judges 6, where God called Gideon, and ask the Lord in prayer two simple things.

1.    God what are you calling me out of?

2.    God what are you calling me into?

Throughout the day, listen to the song Oceans by Hillsong United and let the lyrics take deep root in your heart as you trust God to lead you.

INTO THE DEEP

Sometimes the idea of God calling us into something seems daunting. If you are anything like me, it feels like a weight on your shoulder too big to carry.

God calling us into something bigger is not always about the thing itself but more about our relationship with him. I truly believe that everything, I mean everything, that we go through, the good, bad, and in between, is to bring us into a closer and deeper relationship with God.

So, don’t get weighed down by the weight of the call or the new responsibilities of the discomfort of being outside your comfort zone but instead see it as an exercise of trusting in God and leaning more into who he is. Just as Jesus called to Peter to take that step into the deep waters, something he had never done before, it was also an opportunity for him to trust God like never before. Did he sink? Yes, did he almost drown? Yes, but the more important thing to note is that he took that step. In taking the step, he learned that God is a God of the impossible, he was more affirmed of his faith and belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and he also learned and showed us the importance of keeping/fixing our eyes on Jesus in our journey of life.

If you said the prayer on day 1, I believe God will speak to you in different ways. I believe he will make clear areas of your life where he is calling you to something. I pray that you will glean from Peter's example to not only step out and do what he is calling you to do but also remember the importance of keeping your eyes on Jesus through the process.

There is a song I love by Citipointe Live called “Into the Deep” (listen to it today). It has a vamp that describes the importance of remembering our relationship with God as we step out to do what he is calling us to do. May we never forget that the answer to the call to do that thing (it could be to start a business, go back to school, get a new job, new relationship, ministry, a nonprofit……etc) is also a call to a closer, deeper and more enriching relationship with him.

Today read and meditate on this scripture from Matthew 14: 22-33 and ask God to:

1.    Help you hear his voice more

2.    Show you ways you can start to spend more time with him

Into the deep
I will go with you
Submerge my feet
To my head in all of you
As your presence falls
I'm drowned in your love
Immerse me, immerse me

CLOSER

I have given up on thinking I can ever fully understand God and his ways. I have come to accept that my mind is too little to ever fully grasp the awesomeness of God. I am told in the word in Isaiah 55:8 that his ways are not my ways, and through scripture, I have seen, in fact, that people’s lives don’t seem to go in the direction they want, but God has his way of doing things, and his way is always perfect. Making a choice to trust God and trust his process is never void of fear or disappointments or what seems to us like failures. Remember I mentioned on day 2 that everything we go through is to bring us closer to God. So friend, what I am saying here is that hearing God speak and answering the call to take a step into what he is calling you to does not mean that you will not make mistakes, in fact be ready to. But what it means is that you will build the muscle of trusting God more. The song “Oceans” by Hillsong United says: Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now 

Thinking of these lyrics, I am reminded of Moses when he led the children of Israel out of the wilderness and they had to cross the Red Sea Exodus 14. At that moment, it looked like he “Trusted” God and took that step into the unknown and did what God asked him to do, which was to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt, but then suddenly, they were faced with opposition just like you would. But in this moment Moses did not buckle, the scripture shows us that he sought direction from God. This situation propelled Moses to trust God in a new way for a way through the deep waters. As the song says, “fear surrounded him,” but he had to dig deeper to remind himself that God, who brought them out, would be the one to see them through. God’s sovereign hand saw them through and was their guide. Friends, I write this to remind you that stepping into the unknown and answering a call of God for your life is never void of trials and tough moments, but those experiences bring us closer to God the Father and make us know him more. Trust him more and become more like him. Today as you read and meditate on Exodus 14 ask God to:

1.    Show you something new about this passage

2.    Help you to trust him more

COMPASS

Each day we wake up and have a plan for our day. If you are anything like me, you have a routine and a daily plan laid out for what you will do each day in time slots and how you will do it. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my schedule and routine that I forget to pause and yield to God as my compass. When God gives us a glimpse of what he wants us to do it doesn’t mean we don’t need to lean on him for direction. Let me pause and give you an example, it is like going on a journey. I currently live in Maryland, and if have to go get cake from DC (p.s. I love cake) I have an idea of how to get to DC, I know that from my home I have to take a certain highway and I will have to connect to a certain interstate but since I have never been to this particular Bakery I have to rely on my GPS to give me exact directions to get to my destination without riding around in circles. 

When God calls you to the unknown it requires complete dependency on him and trust in him and in his process. In Genesis 22, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son if Abraham had taken the earlier instruction and did not stay plugged in and communicating with God and open to God’s leading, he would not have heard the voice of God when he called out to Abraham to kill the ram instead of his son. This is why we should remain in constant submission to God even when we know an idea of what he is leading us to. He knows where he is sending us and the roads, he wants us to take. Back to the story of Moses the children of Israel did not have to go the path that would take them to the ocean, in fact, the bible says in Exodus 13:17-18 that God led the people through the Red Sea for a reason and did not take them the shorter route because he knew they could not handle war. The song that comes to mind is called “Captain” by Hillsong United 

“Through waters uncharted, my soul will embark
I'll follow Your voice straight into the dark
And if from the course You intend I depart
Speak to the sails of my wandering heart” 

This should serve as a reminder to us that when stepping out into the unknown we should seek God’s direction daily. I am not saying it is a bad idea to have a routine, I thrive on routine, however, I am suggesting that even in the midst of that, you should ask God for his guidance and leading so that if there are things he wants you to navigate differently you are open to instruction from his spirit. Moses, when faced with an obstacle, did not try to figure it out on his own. God not only guided them down a path that would preserve them from war but used the Red Sea as an opportunity to showcase his glory, sovereignty, and might to all men. Pastor Wale preached that in the new normal, we will have to take on new things, and I believe that we will have to trust God as never before as we step into the unknown and trust his process. Today I ask that you ponder on the story of Moses from Exodus 13 and Abraham from Genesis 22, think of your life and current routines as asked:

1.    Lord, please show me ways where I have been solely dependent on my own understanding

2.    Lord please help me to ask for your guidance daily and listen to the direction of your spirit.

ACCESS

The idea of the unknown can sometimes seem intimidating, but friend, don’t get consumed by overwhelm; rely on God. Lean into God in this season like never before and trust him in what you don’t understand. I often think about how blessed we are that Jesus died for our sins and now has access.

I will end this devotional just like I started with the song “Oceans” by Hillsong United. The vamp is very popular, and it is like a prayer in many ways. I ask that you read the words aloud like a prayer, and when next you sing the song, you make it a personal prayer.

Spirit led me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

The access I speak of that we have is access to the Holy Spirit. Access to God without rituals and ceremonies. If you read stories of the Old Testament from the later chapters of Exodus, you will see in scripture that there was a lot they had to do before coming into the presence of God, and even at that, only the high priest could really go into the holy of holies. We have it differently; we need no man to help us have access to God. We get to have the Spirit of God alive in us daily.

The call into the unknown doesn’t need to be or feel daunting. It doesn’t need to be a hyper-spiritual experience, and it also doesn’t need to be a big task like Moses leading the Children of God out of Egypt. The truth is in our lifetime, God is always calling us into something so we can be more like him, and we can draw closer to him and show us new sides of him in our relationship with him. The call sometimes is small and sometimes it's big, and sometimes it's uncomfortable but we have to rest in the fact that he is leading us and choose to trust him to help us walk through the waters, to take us deeper in him, strengthen our faith and remain in his presence knowing that his plans for us are always best.

Today, I ask that you spend some time thanking God for the access we have to him through his spirit to hear his voice and thank him. Meditate on these scriptures John 14:15-16, John 14: 25-26, John 16:7, John 16: 12-14, and Luke 12:12 Ask him to help you trust his plans for you and surrender to his path

1.     Ask him to give you grace to keep your eyes on him as you step into the unknown

2.     Ask God to help you have a daily awareness of the Holy Spirit in your life and teach you how to engage and hear his voice through this Spirit.