"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 how to dig down deep and lay a firm foundation.
I remember this phrase as a monetary term when one had to dig down deep
in our pockets to find the reserves to pay for something we really needed or 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 in my mind is of a soldier in a war zone who could dig a hole three feet deep, or dig a deeper trench. He could hide his profile in a fox hole, but if he really wanted to be safe he would dig down deeper. It's not easy and it takes longer, but it's 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 in deep trenches of God's Word instead of scrambling for a fox
hole where I find the weapons necessary for spiritual warfare. There I
am able to battle the onslaught of enemy fire with weapons of mass destruction. and where I learn to rest in the reality that the battle belongs to the Lord.The other visual in my mind is of a soldier in a war zone who could dig a hole three feet deep, or dig a deeper trench. He could hide his profile in a fox hole, but if he really wanted to be safe he would dig down deeper. It's not easy and it takes longer, but it's a much better place to be with enemy fire coming from all directions.
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 am also trying to spend more time listening to God than
bombarding Him with my words. As Matt
Redman puts so succinctly, "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 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, come, courage to stand against the attacks of the evil one, steadfastness when the ways of this world slam into me. Floods and storms will come; torrents will
strike but I will not be shaken. The exhortation and 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.
No, it's 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 which 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 // revised November 5, 2019
