^{DIG DOWN DEEP
Luke 6:46-49}

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Dig a little deeper in God's Love. O, dig a little deeper in God's Love

It's a song I remember from my youth.  I looked it up and found that Kenneth Morris composed it around 1948 and Mahalia Jackson recorded it.  Mr. Morris lived from 1917 to 1988 and his music company was the longest surviving publisher of black gospel sheet music.   When I think of the world he was born into and the struggles of African American people all these years, I think he must have been a person who understood the need to dig down deep and lay a firm foundation.

I remember that phrase from  monetary term when one had to dig down deep in our pockets to find the reserves to pay for something we really wanted.   It is also an idiom meaning to dig way down deep in our own souls to uncover who we really are.  We can scratch the surface, or dig down deep and the way we live life will be reflective of our choice.   The other visual I've read is of a soldier in a war zone who could dig a hole three feet deep or a deeper trench.  You would hide your profile in a fox hole, but if you really wanted to be sure, to be safe you had to dig down deeper.  It's not easy and it takes longer, but it is a much better place to be with enemy fire coming from all directions.

How do I dig down deep?  It's not rocket science.   I spend time digging into the Words of our God so I get a clearer picture of His will, His ways, His desires for me.   It's like that deep trench instead of a fox hole experience - I find the weapons necessary for spiritual warfare only in the deep trenches of God's Word.  Then I am able to battle the onslaught of enemy fire with weapons that will destroy him.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
(2 Corinthians 10:3-4)

I spend time listening to God more than bombarding Him with my words.  As Matt Redman put it in his song - "let my words be few."  This comes from Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 . . .

Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

Only as I choose to invest my heart, mind, soul and time in the process of digging down deep do I experience unshakable support and strength, wisdom and the knowledge needed for when the winds of adversity, the attacks of the evil one, the ways of this world slam me.  Floods and storms will come; torrents will strike but I will not be shaken, my God's promised reward for digging down deep and laying a strong foundation is as true today as the day it was penned over 2000 years ago . . .

For everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. (Luke 5:47-48)

Not rocket science, true - but it is not always easy to make the choices necessary.  In my world today everyone, including me, wants the easy way out, the quick fix.  We want someone to tell us a good story each Sunday or stuff us full of spiritual insights for a weekend but then we walk away into real life that can so easily shatter our resolve.   I love the mountain top experiences, but when it is time to be back in the real world, the only place safe and secure is in the One who tells us to dig down deep and lay a strong foundation; to hear His words and put them into practice.  Not rocket science, but it does take the same kind of determination and resolve.  

smcs //  September 24-25, 2015