by Calven Celliers
If you were to take a quick inventory of your life right now, where would you say your relationship is with God? Is it close or distant? Is it strong or strained? Are you truly seeking to grow deeper in your walk with the Lord, or are you just skimming the surface? Only you know the answer to those questions. Our current culture is so busy we can become experts at faking it. We can look like we’re going to the depths when, in fact, we’re just skating. So you must answer for yourself. Are you seeking to really know God? Or are you satisfied with just attending a lot of religious meetings, reading a few religious books, and learning all the religious-sounding language.
The word “deep” in Webster’s Dictionary means “extending far below the surface, descending far downward, profound, opposed to shallow, piercing a great way, not superficial or obvious, hidden, secret, heartfelt, intricate.” God wants to take us far below the surface in our relationship with Himself, and I don’t doubt for a second that you want the exact same thing. But here’s the thing, we need to be intentional about fighting for time spent with God on a daily basis. God longs to spend time with us. Yet, the devil is constantly cooking up ways for us to get further away from our heavenly Father. In his first epistle Peter warns us saying, “8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith…” (1 Peter 5:8 – 9NLT)
So be on guard! Protect your time with God against the enemy’s wicked schemes. Time spent with God should not be compromised. It’s so important to our spiritual growth and enduring strength and faith. That’s why today, as you read this post, I want you to seriously consider if you’re intentionally seeking to invest in and deepen your relationship with God, or are you satisfied with just skimming the surface?
I know you’re all busy. Despite being in lockdown, I’ve heard many of you comment that you’ve never been busier. This reminds me of the many conversations I’ve had with people who have retired and wonder where they ever had the time to work. But don’t forget this truth, nothing is impossible with God! It just takes determination, persistence, intentionality, action, and passionate devotion. I want to encourage you to not let another day go by without pressing in and drawing closer to God. Fight for that time. Fight the distractions. Fight for balance. Make time to go deeper. Get your priorities straight! Sorry to be so blunt, but there is frankly nothing more important than your personal relationship with God.
The prophet Isaiah once wrote,
“8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 8 & 9NIV)
Clearly our Lord operates in realms far beyond our ability to comprehend, but He longs for us to explore what is beyond the obvious. Some of His best truths, like priceless treasures, are hidden in depths most people never take the time to search out. What a loss! Patiently He waits to reveal insights and dimensions of truth to those who care enough to probe, to examine, to ponder. It takes time alone with Him and His Word before we can expect our spiritual strength to grow. It takes time spent with God to grow deep.
There is nothing quite like depth to make us dissatisfied with superficial, shallow things. Once we’ve delved below the surface and tasted of the marvels and mysteries of the deep, we realize the absolute value of plumbing those depths. Our Heavenly Father, who holds the world in His hands, invites us to go deeper rather than find contentment in surface matters.
And on that note, I’ll swiftly wrap up todays blog post, so that you can go and spend more time with Jesus.
Enjoy!
Calven
So wise…as always. Thank you, Calven.
Thank you dear Cal.. Yes we definitely want to delve deeper, especially now , and spend more quality time in the Lord’s presence.
Thank you. You speak truth Calvin. I commit to dig deeper🙏🏻❣️
Hi Calven. Thank you for this very insightful message. Yes I think I really need to work harder and dig deeper to get closer to the Lord. You have given us so much food for though .
Thanks for encouraging and inspiring us to reach greater depths in our spiritual walk with the Lord. We’re so blessed with our pastoral team.
God bless you and family
Love
Magda