There isn’t anything on earth deeper than the Challenger Deep. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it’s the deepest point of the Mariana Trench and the deepest section within the entire earth’s surface. At a depth of just about 36,000 feet, the Challenger Deep is…ummm… DEEP… 6.8 miles DEEP! If that depth is hard to fathom, let’s channel Julia Robert’s character, Anna Scott, in Nottinghill, “Give it to me in yards.” In yards, the Challenger Deep is 120 football fields. Even with Anna’s request, I can’t begin to fathom 120 football fields deep… it’s inconceivable. Yet, the depth of God’s love is a very intense, even extreme love. It is deeper than an infinite number of football fields and …. the HOPE that comes along with His love is infinitely deep as well.
While researching the earth’s depths, The Bee Gees song, How Deep is Your Love ran through my head: I know your eyes in the morning sun, I feel you touch me in the pouring rain. And the moment that you wander far from me, I wanna feel you in my arms again. If you find yourself singing this song in your sleep tonight, you’re welcome! Joking aside… the words of this song offer a wink of God’s deep, intense… even extreme love for us. He knows us from head to toe, including the details of our eyes. He holds us during life’s storms, whether it’s pouring rain or blizzard conditions. And during the moments when we wander from Him, He misses us and desires to hold us again. Beautiful love, beautiful HOPE.
God yearns for a deep relationship with each one of us. Correction… He desires an extreme, meaningful, and deep relationship, one that is based on intense love. He wants us to bring Him all our worries and wonders, concerns and cares, struggles and strivings... God wants all our “stuff”; surrendering our lives to Him to live a life of abundance, peace, joy, love, and HOPE.
Through our relationship with Him, He grows our faith. Yes, we will encounter dreads and dreams, trials and triumphs, strife and strides. No matter the valley ventures and the mountaintop moments, God is with us through them all; allowing them to strain and stretch our faith. Only by having a deep relationship with Him, can we trust Him in ALL life’s moments. The deeper the relationship, the stronger our faith, the increased ability we have to give Him the glory in ALL of it, and the more HOPE we are able to share with those around us.
Truly deep relationships, those that stand the test of time, are reciprocal. Deep relationships involve deep selflessness, sacrificial giving of each other. God gave His only Son to save us from a legacy of sin. Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice by dying on the cross so that all sinners (humans) can be righteous in God’s eyes. Can you imagine sacrificing your only son to save someone else? Personally, I have a hard time sacrificing my time for others without consulting my calendar. I can’t imagine sacrificing my son for someone else’s life. It’s beyond inconceivable… beyond deep… beyond my comprehension… beyond my imagination.
How in the world do we reciprocate what God and His Son did for us? There will never be anything we can do to repay Him for His sacrifice. No matter how many good works we do or how good we are, we will never be able to repay Him. That’s the pure beauty in what He did FOR us to have a deep relationship WITH us. We should never go into a relationship with God thinking we can repay Him… He doesn’t want that. He wants us to love Him and, in doing so, we will glorify Him in all we do to those around us. We will share His light and HOPE through our goodness and selflessness. We will praise His name above all names and share His selfless character with those who are near and dear to us.
God knows us deeply and He wants us to know Him deeply. The only way we can increase the depth of our relationship is by listening to His messages within His Word and during prayer. Through His Word, His Spirit, His voice, or even situations, God is always sending us messages of guidance, support, wisdom, love, peace, and HOPE. It is up to us to listen to His voice and act on His guidance. In doing so, we will discover our relationship gaining depth through our deeper understanding His character and personality… yes, God has a personality.
There is a deep HOPE just waiting for you to discover. It isn’t found in the Challenge Deep… in fact, it isn’t found on this earth. It is found in the deep relationship you have with your Creator… the One who created you in His image, formed you in your mother’s womb, and has great plans for your life. Get to know God… His ways, His Word, His messages, His HOPE. He loved us first so we can love Him most. There is nothing on this earth you will ever experience at a deeper level than Him.