Walking Upon the Waters of God's Will

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

by Hillsong United

You call me out upon the water
The great unknown, where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep, my faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours, and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed, and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours, and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours, and You are mine

Learning to Let Go

Trusting is difficult. It means letting go. It means giving up control. It means transferring your confidence from yourself to another person--in my case, the other person that I need to rely on is Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

I know in my head that God is trustworthy. His character is such that it makes much better sense to put my faith in Him rather than in myself. God is sovereign; I am subject to circumstances. God is all-powerful; I am extremely weak. God is wise; I have very limited understanding. In light of this, why is it so difficult for me to let go?

I can think of several possible reasons--and all of them are upsetting. It could be that I don't trust in God's goodness. It could be that I am proud, and that I think I can do a better job than He can. It could be that I feel like if I "let go," my life will spin out of control. Or it could be a combination of all three! But it all boils down to the fact that I don't believe in my heart of hearts that God is who He says He is and can do what He says He will do.

God is bringing to light areas in my life where I need to "let go and let God." One of these areas is my search for employment. I need a job, and I need one soon! I'm doing my best to scour the internet and other resources for every possible opportunity. However, there comes a point at which I need to put the situation in God's hands.

For example, I am reviewing a possible nannying position. I have many questions: Am I capable of handling this? Will the family's schedule match up with my availability? What are the children like? Truthfully, I'm just plain scared. Scared to venture out into new territory that I have never attempted before. But should this keep me from moving forward, if I know that it is what God wants?

The Lord keeps bringing me back to a well-known passage of Scripture that is much easier to read and agree with than to actually put into practice. The passage is Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)

 The meaning of this verse is made even clearer in the Message version of the Bible:

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the One who will keep you on track.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart. Not only do I need to trust God mentally, but I need to trust Him emotionally--in the deepest parts of my heart and soul. In this way, I will desire to put into practice the things that He is calling me to do.

Don't try to figure out everything on your own. How often do I attempt this? I want to know who, where, when, why, and how everything is going to work out. But what room does this leave for my faith in God?

Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go. I need to tune-out the constant flood of thoughts, worries, and what-if's that bombard my mind, and tune-in to God's still, small voice.

He's the only One who will keep you on track. If I "let go," my life will not crumble. If I trust in my God and surrender to Him, things will not spiral out of control. He is the only One who has the desire and ability to keep me on track, and He is the the only One worthy of my complete faith and trust.

I believe (Lord, help me overcome my unbelief! see Mark 9:24) that He will not let me down!

Trials that Transform

I thank You for the bitter things
They've been a friend to grace,
They've driven me from the paths of ease
To storm the secret place.
~Florence White Willett

Father, I'm so delighted that You are both loving and sovereign, and that You cause all things to work together for good to those who love You, to those who are called according to Your purpose. So I thank You for each disturbing or humbling situation in my life, for each breaking or cleansing process You are allowing, for each problem or hindrance, for each thing that triggers in me anxiety or anger or pain. And I thank You in advance for each disappointment, each demanding duty, each pressure, each interruption that may arise in the coming hours and days.

In spite of what I think or feel when I get my eyes off You, I choose not to resist my trials as intruders, but to welcome them as friends.

Thank You that each difficulty is an opportunity to see You work...that in Your time You will bring me out to a place of abundance. I rejoice that You plan to enrich and beautify me through each problem, each conflict, each struggle...that through them You expose my weaknesses and needs, my hidden sins, my self-centeredness (and especially my self-reliance and pride). Thank You that You use trials to humble me and perfect my faith and produce in me the quality of endurance...that they prepare the soil of my heart for the fresh new growth in godliness that You and I both long to see in me...and that my momentary troubles are producing for me an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, as I keep my eyes focused on You. I'm grateful that You look beyond my superficial desire for a trouble-free life; instead, You fulfill my deep-down desire to glorify You, enjoy Your warm fellowship, and become more like Your Son.

~Taken from 31 Days of Praise, by Ruth Myers

Becoming an Overcomer

Another theme that God has been weaving through my life is the idea of being an "overcomer." When I face difficulties, discouragement, or doubt, I tend to succumb to the temptation to give up--instead of relying on God to overcome these giants.

During my lunch break at work the other day, I flipped on the radio in my car and was encouraged to hear the song, "Overcomer," by Mandisa. The words really spoke to my heart! The chorus of the song reads:

You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

I certainly didn't FEEL like an overcomer at that point, or even that I could become one. But that night, God reiterated His desire for me to grow in this area. My devotional reading from Streams in the Desert spoke about overcoming difficulties. One of the most poignant sections stated:

Giants represent great difficulties, and they stalk us everywhere. They are in our families, our churches, our social life, and even our own hearts. We must overcome them or they will devour us, just as the ancient Israelites, fearing those in Canaan, said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size" (Numbers 13:32). We should exhibit faith as did Joshua and Caleb, who said, "Do not be afraid...because we will swallow them up " (Numbers 14:9). In effect, they told the others, "We will be stronger by overcoming them than if there had been no giants to defeat."

As I face new--as well as familiar--giants each day, I have God's promise that He will never give me more than I can bear, with His help (1 Corinthians 10:13). With His Word in my mind and the Holy Spirit in my heart, I have the ability to overcome anything that the enemy puts in my path. I need only to rely on Him and to allow Him to transform me into an overcomer, day by day.