Spirit Online
January 15, 2012
Swimming in the Deep End
Scripture
"Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life."
~James 1:12
Message
Do you remember the first time you jumped into the deep end of a pool? The first time you jumped into water in which it was too deep to stand, and you had no "water wings" to help buoy you, and no one to catch you? It was just you and the deep end of the pool! How we approach the deep end of the pool is a great metaphor for how we approach life.
Many of us live our lives in the far shallow end: the political level. This is where we take actions that will win the approval of others. We do what other people want us to do, rather than what we want to do. At this level, we are politically motivated to act in a manner that is viewed as appropriate and positive, and that we think others want to see and hear.
But we don't get very far living life on a political plane; we can get worn out by doing things that others want us to do! That's when we graduate to the less shallow intellectual level. At this level, our heads are engaged in decision, and we are intellectually driven to make choices because they make sense.
Again, however, we don't always get a lot of personal satisfaction from living at a purely intellectual level. That's when we begin to move from the shallow end into something deeper: the emotional level. At this level, we are driven by passion, because we are emotionally engaged by something. We take actions that truly warm our hearts and make us feel good. This is a level at which we really begin to enjoy life.
When we move even further into the deepest end of the pool, we finally reach the spiritual level. This is the level at which we have a complete spiritual commitment to something. We literally become "one" with the object of our commitment; we are inseparable from it. This is true bliss! This is what we all strive for!
Each of us live and move within all of these dimensions every day. We move back and forth between the political, intellectual, emotional and spiritual levels all the time. And that's healthy! The goal is to live the greater, key part of our lives within the emotional and spiritual levels. Otherwise, we won't have much fun!
The scariest place in "the life pool" is that danger zone that lies between the shallow (political/intellectual) end and the deep (emotional/spiritual) end. When we're standing in the shallow end, we're fine. If we're swimming in the deep end, we're great. It's the "in-between" area that threatens us; that indecisive place in the middle where the shallow drops to the deep, and we have to make a choice about which way to go. This is the area that presents high risks and big questions. These are the "shudderings" in our lives: the many challenges we face. Finances, relationships, career choices, health issues: these "shudderings" are what force us to decide at what level we're going to live.
Many of us initially try to deal with our shudderings at a political/intellectual level. We think it through, wrestle with it a bit, try to negotiate or deal our way through it and/or do what we think is politically correct. When that doesn't work, we have a choice. We can either bounce off that challenge and go back to playing in the shallow water again, having never learned anything from the process. Or we can stand and face that shuddering "head on," go deep for answers - and stay there! - and persist until we ultimately break through the challenge to something greater on the other side.
James 1:12 tells us, "Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life."
What this Scripture tells us is that our goal is not to escape or avoid these "shudderings"; rather, our goal is to persist and work our way through them! Going through challenges is the reason we are here! The only way that we can learn, expand, and receive MORE and GREATER life is to face our challenges, stick with them, and work our way through to something greater.
Scripture tells us that the Spirit in us is stronger than anything else in the world. We have the resources - and power - within us to get through any obstacle or challenge. There is no "shuddering" that we cannot overcome. And when we do, James assures us that we will be rewarded with LIFE and MORE LIFE.
From this point forward, consider every "problem" as a new possibility. Problems are presented to us because moving through them drives us into higher possibilities and planes of life. Moving through them is what ultimately blesses us in the best possible ways, and moves us forward into greater joy, love and light. That should provide all of us with tremendous encouragement as we move through the many "shudderings" in our lives.
God bless you all!
Prayer
Living, loving Spirit, open my heart today to new possibilities. Create in me a joyful heart that is rewarded with infinite boundaries. Help me to release what no longer serves me, heal all that burdens me, and free myself from all that is holding me back, so that I can be renewed and move forward to greater joys and possibilities. I open myself to the infinite love and light of Spirit. I celebrate the magnificence of who I am and all that I am able to achieve. I breathe in the fullness of God and life, and feel the power of Spirit moving in and through me. Thank you for the power to work my way through life's challenges to achieve all my hopes and dreams. Thank you for all the blessings in my life, and all the good that is yet to come. Thank you for the knowledge that God's perfect work is being done in my life, now and always. Amen.
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