Going Deeper
God calls us to go deeper with Him. We do this by laying our will down to do the will of God. It may not be easy, but it is always better for us.
Going deeper will cost us: our will, our wants, the way we want to handle things, our choices. For example, we may want to watch TV but God says to pray. We may want to skip church but we know God wants us there. When someone speaks a harsh word, we may need to hold our tongue. God may tell us to fast when we really want to chow down. We must crucify our flesh. In other words, we let our spirit man dominate our flesh in order to obey God. God’s Spirit calls to our spirit to go deeper. Each step we take for God will take us deeper with God.
Deep calleth unto deep…. Psalm 42:7 (KJV)
One benefit of going deeper with God is that we will produce more fruit. The deeper the root, the more the fruit (Proverbs 12:12). Root downward and fruit upward (Isaiah 37:31). When a tree has deep roots, it won’t be blown over by storms and can handle the weight of the fruit it bears. When we are deeply rooted and grounded in God, we will be able to face adversity, and we can handle whatever blessing God gives us (Ephesians 3:17).
But as it is written in the Scriptures: “No one has ever seen this, and no one has ever heard about it. No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But God has shown us these things through the Spirit. The Spirit searches out all things, even the deep secrets of God. Who knows the thoughts that another person has? Only a person’s spirit that lives within him knows his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has given us. I Corinthians 2:9-12 (New Century Version, NCV)
God has prepared many things for us , but if we live shallow lives, we will miss the deeper meaning of our lives and of who God is. To know God even more, we must go deeper by revelation of the Scripture, revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will reveal deeper truths of God’s Word as we study the Bible and remain open to His teaching and guidance. We are not to do it in our own strength- we cannot reveal anything of God to ourselves. It is by the Spirit of the Lord (Zechariah 4:6).
And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths to spiritual people. A person who does not have the Spirit does not accept the truths that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be judged to be true by the Spirit. The spiritual person is able to judge all things, but no one can judge him. The Scripture says: “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been able to teach him?” But we have the mind of Christ. I Corinthians 2:13-16 (New Century Version, NCV)
The Holy Spirit compares spiritual things with spiritual things, and people who don’t tap into the Holy Spirit can’t understand spiritual things. As we study the Word of God, we are given the mind of Christ and can progresively handle the deeper things of God. Going deeper with God will change our entire being and how we live our lives. As we pray in tongues, the Spirit of God will search and show us God’s heart and plan. We will actually pray out what God has for us. The Holy Spirit will lead us deeper into the thoughts of God.
Revelation of the Word of God by the Spirit of God takes us deeper with God. We will see God working all things for our good as we choose to go deeper with God one step, one choice, one act of obedience at a time.
