Immersed Faith

Do you remember the first time you attempted to swim? For some of us, swimming seems like an insurmountable task we’ve yet to master, while others are graceful with their backstroke and find solace in the water. I remember my first swim lesson, and at the tender age of ten, I had to quickly learn the characteristics tied to endurance, patience, and a fearless mindset. 

Prior to taking my first swim lesson, I’d been a fan of the pool (from afar). Swimming seemed so easy from a distance while watching my friends cannonball or plunge into the deep end of the pool, and I wanted to master that ease myself. However, I couldn’t let go of the ledge when getting into the water. I was just five one, in four feet of water, and drowning was all too real. 

“I don’t think I can do this,” I remember saying to my instructor. But she gave me a simple nod and said something that has stayed with me to this day: “You can’t stay in the shallow end forever.”

How many of us have been living life on the shallow side of faith? 

We see others “cannonballing” their way into life’s deep waters, but we’re stuck holding on to the ledge for fear of drowning. The unexpected waves throughout life can be overwhelming, in fact, I dare to say some facets of life resemble that of drowning, but just like the disciples in Mark 6:48, when Jesus saw they were “straining at the oars, because they were rowing against the wind,” He came to them. Mark 6:49 goes on to say, “He was going to pass them by, but they saw Him walking on the water,” and thought it was a ghost. 

When we live in shallow faith, we miss God’s undeniable hand and think it’s a ghost, or even worse, we let His blessings pass us by. Living a shallow type of faith yields false fruits, unproductive friendships, and idle time. Yet, living in God’s fullness, inevitably produces Fruits of the Spirit, and a confidence that leads us into God’s undeniable glory. 

Stop holding on to the ledge, and let go! Yes, I will admit, there is an ease that comes with living on the shallow end of faith, but is the lack of prayer time, complaining to friends, or waiting to work your gift helping your life? Is the same lesson that has come around for the “umpteenth” time ever going to be mastered? It starts by letting go of whatever is your crutch, and immersing yourself in faith, just like a swim lesson. You can’t master the skill without first learning the technique, and to be a skilled “Faith Swimmer” you have to commune with God, so intimately that He can’t be mistaken for a ghost in your life. 

Prayer, fasting, studying the scriptures, and being connected with a church immersed in God’s word is just the start. Next, you have to let go, and trust that the “thing” God has called you to master will take a “mustard seed” amount of faith, time, and work, until eventually God will produce just what He promised. 

And even when you start to sink, remember that Peter tested God by getting out of the boat, and walking towards Jesus, and when “He (Peter) noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. “Save me, Lord!” he cried. At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, “How little faith you have! Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14: 29-31). 

We have to trust that God is with us, watching us, trusting we’ll come to Him for everything. He’ll lend us His hand when we drown, but He wants us to have faith. Yet, we must step away from the ledge and out of the boat to avoid a shallow-centered faith.

After all, “You can’t stay in the shallow end forever.”