We have all been through a tough season, a time where the Lord puts us in deeper waters. Sometimes, you feel like your drowning in those waters, you feel as though the emotions and the coldness of that water is overtaking you and you think to yourself "there's no way I can bear this". As human, we sometimes panic during this time. Our emotions overwhelm us so we do things that the Lord didn't call us to do and even if we have good intentions we tend to cause more issues. 

When I was younger, I took swimming lessons. One of my favorite things to do was float. I loved just going on my back and floating in the water. I always thought how peaceful it was to just lay on top of the water and move with the water. Every class the teacher will give us some time to do whatever we wanted. One time, I grabbed a noodle and went into the deeper end. I was so confident because I was good at floating so if anything happened I knew I could just float there until someone gets me. But, I did one wrong move and I lost the noodle and went under the water and I panicked. My emotions overtook me and I struggled to get back up and I forgot everything the teacher taught me. I thought the same thought I do now, "there's no way I'll get through this" and like Jesus, a hand grabbed me out of the water into a safe place. After calming me down the teacher looked at me and said "next time, remember what I taught you, just calm down and allow your body to float". It was the only swimming lesson I was good at and she knew it.

This reminds me so much of Jesus. We go into deeper waters with Jesus and when those emotions overwhelm us we panic and do things that we shouldn't do, we forget everything Jesus has taught us, and we begin to drown. By His grace, Jesus always saves us, but how much better would we have been if we would just learn to remember His word, His promises, and just rest in Him. How much sweeter would that deep water be if we allowed our bodies to float in it and move with Jesus. The anxiety build up in our chest, the heartache, the fear and all of the emotions that hurt so much could all be avoided. The negative thoughts that we can't do it, the bitterness that grows in our hearts, and the hardness that the Lord later has to break could be avoided. 

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know, that I am God" His word doesn’t tell us to panic, scream, and do all that you can do to make your situation better... no, just be still. Float in the water and allow your soul to rest and allow your actions to follow the Holy Spirit. 

Psalm 62:5 says, "My soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him" We need to teach ourselves to wait. This is where I am in my walk and this is such a hard thing to do but I know that this is what I must do and it will be worth it.

When you’re in deeper waters with the Lord and your trying to be still but the pain is still unbearable, try to remember this quote, " You need to understand that the enemy is not really after your dreams, your health, or your finances, He's not primarily after your family. He's after your joy. Your enemy knows if he can deceive you into living down in the dumps, depressed, you are not going to have the necessary strength- physically, emotionally, or spiritually- to withstand his attacks" This has spoken to my heart this past week and now as I rest in those waves I remember what the Lord has taught me throughout my walk, "The joy of the Lord is my STRENGTH". Allow the Lord to be your strength and let go of your situation. The Lord loves you too much to let you drown and one day you will look back and see that goodness and mercy followed you through that time and will continue to follow you throughout your days. (Psalm 23:6)