When You’re In The Deep And You’re Too Blind To See Anything But The Storm
My eyesight is bad, really bad. My husband once asked me to identify the smallest letter I could read on the doctor’s eye chart. What chart?I asked as he stood in the darkened office pointing at a fuzzy light reflecting dimly on the opposite wall.
Yeah, that’s me.Myopia, they call it.It basically means that I can’t see anything beyond my nose without the assistance of my trusted contacts or glasses.My first instinct in getting out of bed in the morning is to reach for my glasses.I am utterly helpless to do anything without them.
I not only struggle to see what is right in front of me, my eyesight is so bad there are times I struggle to see clearly inside my heart as well.Inside, if I’m honest, I can be just as blind to see anything beyond my doubts, my fears, my worries, all of which seem larger than life, blind to my attitudes and defenses that keep me safely distanced from those I love most.
In my myopic introspection (which just might be an oxymoron), my hope can falter and despair can surge like an internal storm, threatening to undermine my peace and my faith.
Such a Peter I am, at times.There are moments when I proudly proclaim my devotion to my Savior, and there are times when I complain contemptuously about my circumstances, my worries, my unremittant discontent.Sometimes I even question His faithfulness to me.
I hate that about myself.
I am so grateful that God knows all of the soul-stuff that leaves me hanging by a thread and chooses to save me anyway.Love me anyway.Be faithful to me—anyway.
His faithfulness doesn’t come and go according to my good and bad days.His goodness doesn’t come with an expiration date or a list of demands.Nor is His love dependent on my moods (thankfully!).
What is coming ever clearer into focus the older I get is that He’s always the Father waiting for His prodigal child to come home, He’s always the Good Shepherd ready to leave the flock to come find me.He’s Messiah who has declared my name and my destiny though He knew how quickly and easily I, like Peter, would falter.
At the end of the day His grace presses in and reminds me —it’s just Him and me.My circumstances don’t matter.My fears seem to scatter around the edges of my mind.Seeing the outline of His face etched in light right before my eyes, nothing else exists.And that is the calling of each Believer.
He’s calling each of us into the deep.Deep faith and deep waters.Yes, the waters in the deep can be rough.They are a vast expanse of all that is unsettled and unknown.They stir every worry and every fear, bringing doubt and hopelessness to crest wildly at the surface.
God didn’t bring us into the deep to drown us, He brought us here to transform us.
So when you’re in the deep and you’re too blind to see anything but the storm in front of you, here are two things to remember:
You will be defined by your circumstances or your faith
Every moment of every day we each have a choice.We will either allow the circumstances, the challenges, the sorrows of the day to consume us, sway our inner fortitude, and leave us distracted in a frenzy of frustration and fear, or we will train our eyes on the only One who will steady us, who will strengthen us as we find our footing and move forward into the life and the future God has for us.
The issue of faith is not so much whether we believe in God, but whether we believe the God we believe in._RC Sproll
Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake. _Martin Luther
It is a choice. Sometimes I stumble, but thankfully there isn’t a voice of shame and judgment to condemn me as I sink beneath the waves, just a passionate and beautiful Savior beckoning me back to His side, calling me to look, to trust, to move toward Him, to walk with Him.The life of faith is a call to live with God, to allow His sacred Spirit to be a rauch, a wind that moves us in His direction, the direction of holy.
Circumstances will always cause us to live tempestuously, rocking with the ebb and flow of life’s emotions and faulty impulses.Faith is the only substance that anchors us in the middle of our challenges and holds us up when sorrow and despair push their leveling weight, threatening to crush all hope, all life from our depth.
I choose faith.I must choose faith.What will you choose?
Hebrews 12:2(NIV) tell us to, Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
If you are struggling to hold on to faith and need a little mercy, read here!
The muscles you use most are the muscles that will grow
Whatever muscles we train most in the gym, those are the muscles that will grow strong, and whatever we ignore, those will become the weakest parts of our muscular structure.
Likewise, if we use our worry muscles, then our worry muscles will grow.If we use cynicism, defensiveness, blame, or anger, we will find ourselves more cynical, more judging, more victimized, and condemning than ever before.
Therefore, if we want a strong faith, we must use our faith muscles.There is no shortcut, no fast-track.Yet if we use what weak and fragile faith muscles we have strapped to our frail, fearful bones, little by little, day by day, our faith muscles will grow.
2 Cor 5:7(NIV) says, We live by faith and not by sight.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB),You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Take that faith-step.One step.You can do it.
Revelation 12:11-12(NIV) encourages us that, They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!
That’s faith-exercising.That’s hope in action.
The truth is, we can all be blind at times.It’s okay to be blind, okay to not see, as long as we are clinging to the One who can.Who sees all things clearly.Perfectly.
Ask God to reveal the reality of your heart.Ask Him to show you why you react and respond to circumstances and people the way you do.Ask Him for wisdom to dig, to deal, to heal all of the broken places that have held you in captivity.
James 1:5-6 (NIV)tells us, If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
Whatever you are facing today, whatever has you quaking in your shoes, whatever threatens to steal away your hope, your faith, your belief in God’s unimaginable, inescapable love— make that choice right now.Lean in and choose faith.Choose trust.Choose Him.You won’t be disappointed.He will always come through.
My eyesight may never get any better, probably will only get worse with age.But the eyes of my heart don’t have to be blind any longer.They can see beyond any circumstances, any defenses, any anger, doubt or fear.By faith.
Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)teaches us, By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
The power of our faith is limitless because our God is limitless.Yes, limitless.
Choose faith.Exercise faith.It will not disappoint.
About This Community
Don't we all want a little peace? My heart for this community is to provide just that - a needed refuge from all the burdens that weigh us down, some encouragement and inspiration to keep us weary travelers moving forward on our journeys, and some practical advice to help each of us navigate the challenges of life and relationships. Whether in our parenting, our marriages, our faith, or the broken places in our hearts, this place is for anyone who dares to reach beyond the hopelessness that surrounds us and embrace a lifestyle of emotional abundance and peace!
About Peace for a Lifetime
In my new book, Peace for a Lifetime, I share the keys to cultivating a life that’s deeply rooted, overflowing, and abundant, the fruit of which is peace. Through personal and professional experience as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I've discovered how to take the broken pieces of life and find indestructible peace with myself, God and with others. Through my story and other’s stories you’ll realize that you can experience the life for which you long. You can experience abundance beyond anything you can imagine. You can experience peace, not just for today, not just for tomorrow. You can experience peace —for a lifetime!
Peace for a Lifetime is available on Amazon.com.
Book Trailer: https://vimeo.com/155392891