When You Want To Dive Deep but Feel Stuck in the Shallows

Sometimes we’re on the verge of diving deep and we don’t even know it.

Five and a half years ago I began this blog. Nothing fancy, it started as a place to offer encouragement to those who found themselves stuck in the mess of life. 

A modest beginning, with a couple friends and few family members tuning in, my influence and reach grew very slowly. So slowly, in fact, I had moments of doubt. 

Did I sense God’s direction correctly? Am I foolish to be encouraging others when I’m living in a mess myself?  And the age-old, what do I have to offer? 

Yet, in obedience, I continued to offer up my meager sacrifice of time. 

And God!

And God …

In a 36-hour window God multiplied. He touched and anointed and encouraged. In awe, I watched as my reach nearly doubled in less than 2 days time!

I mean I simply stared, hardly daring to believe what I was seeing. 

Honestly, this growth had little to do with me. I didn’t do anything different than I had for any of the other 48,180 hours of my blogging life.

Digging into blog and social media analytics, I couldn’t see any reason for this exponential growth. It made no sense, in my eyes.

But I’m sure it made perfect sense in God’s. 

Isn’t that how God often works? We think we’re doing all the right things, yet He often waits until we can claim none of the credit before providing the blessings.

His actions say, trust ME, not yourself, to do the multiplying! He may do the multiplying slowly over a long period of time, other times rapidly, like overnight. 

God often waits to provide the blessings: His actions saying, trust Him, not yourself, to do the multiplying! Share on X

Dive Deep or Wade in the Shallows

We often think we need to jump right into the deep end quickly for God to provide His miraculous intervention. And sometimes that’s the case. 

But other times He’s asking us to wade in slowly. Like engaging a gradually sloped beach instead of a sudden drop-off one. Or like entering a zero-entry swimming pool versus one that begins at the 3-foot level. 

Diving deep into our faith, into what God has for us, does involve some intentionality on our part. We do have to enter the water. Yet God’s ultimately in charge of whether we’ll be diving in quickly or wading in slowly at any given time. 

So don’t despair when He seems to be keeping you in the shallow end longer than you’d like. Don’t become frustrated when He has you at a gently sloped beach when all you want is to swim the deep waters. 

God’s timing is perfect. He wants you to go deep in life and deep in faith. But He will direct how it all ultimately plays out in your life.

3 Ways to Wait More Patiently on God’s Timing

Here are three ways I’ve learned (the long, hard way) to more patiently wait on His timing: 

• Engage with God daily.
  • You have to be near Him to know His heart, to sense His next step for you. 
  • You can’t be obedient without knowing what that looks like. 
• Be obedient.
  • Move in the direction you sense Him leading. 
  • Don’t quit if you don’t see results. God’s work in our lives is often masked from us for a season. Keep taking that next step and the next and the next (even if you remain in the shallow and you’d rather be in the deep).

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways.’
This is the Lord’s declaration.” Isaiah 55:8

• Focus on Him and His work for and in you, not His work for and in someone else. 
  • We all need blinders. Comparison is deadly to following where God is leading you. 
  • The work and timing He has for you is unique to you. Quit looking around to see if you’re doing it right. If you are drawing near to God each day, He is drawing near to you, and He will impart His will for you, even if it’s simply to wait for now. 

You want to go deep: deeper in your faith, deeper in your life’s work, deeper in your relationships. I get it. I really do.

But may I gently remind you, and me, to be patient. 

The Adventure

God will guide you into the deep. But you need to be ready. Trust Him to have the best timing for you.

God will guide you into the deep. But you need to be ready. Trust Him to have the best timing for you. Share on X

And then experience the adventure of His miraculous work in your life, in both the shallower and the deeper aspects of life! 

“So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. ³⁷ For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.” Hebrews 10:35-37

Reflections: Does God have you in a season of wading in the shallows or diving into the deep? Which is hardest for you to remain obedient in?

I am always thrilled to link up with Suzie Eller for #livefreeThursday and this week’s prompt, “into the deep.” Click on the image to check out the wonderful encouragement.

There’s still time to enter my giveaway of my friend Rachel Wojo’s book, One More Step : Finding Strength When You Feel Like Giving Up. Find the entry widget at this post: “Find the Strength to Take the Next Step (review and giveaway)”.