Depth

Sometimes I wonder about the youth of the church, some days I can't help but ask, "Where's the depth?" Where's the crave for God? The leaders will ask lesson related questions and be met with silence. If no one is willing to speak out in a setting of fellow believers, who will reach the multitude of those who don't share a faith in God? I don't say these things judgmentally, I do realize it can be difficult to speak, but it shouldn't if it's your about your faith and in a place designed for you to grow it.

But how can you teach depth? How can you plant a desire? My thought is that even though they can be externally encouraged, they must be accomplished by each individual heart. So what is my role supposed to be? There's not much to be done by the leaders beyond what is already being put into practice. It's in the hands of the students to seek God the other six days of the week. Sometimes achieving depth with another person or in a group requires an initial act of vulnerability. It requires a tiny bit of courage to speak, to share, to show others what Christ is doing in your life, what God is showing and teaching you, where you're struggling, what's hurting your soul, and how you're seeking God's will. There are so many ways that God moves in our lives, and sometimes we are meant to share them, but if you're not on the look out for Him to begin with, you'll never know how He's moving.

Reach for depth, reach for God.

Seek wisdom, seek the answers to the curiosity of your soul. Begin with a matter in the Bible that touches you emotionally, or a question you've pondered. God will send you something to draw you near.

Look for God working in your life. Look at the beauty He's given you and surrounded you with.

Listen to the whispers of the Spirit within you. Listen to the counsel of other Christians. Listen to the words in the ear of your mind when you read God's words, His love letters to you.

Speak love, God's love. Speak to those around you deeply and sincerely. Share what God is showing you, where He's stretching you, your weak points, and how you're growing and learning.

Though thinking, seeking, sharing, and speaking are all important, one of the most important, and perhaps rare, aspects of depth is silence and listening. We can learn the most in moments of silence with God.

Promoting depth is social circles and in other relationships begins with finding a personal depth. Those who are not deeply planted in the word of God will crumble when troubles come to them personally, and they will also not be a sharp iron to spur others on towards Christ. Chase depth, build your foundation, live with zeal. Be strong and courages. Be part of what can be a new revival of the Church. It starts now, here, with you reaching for God.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Hebrews 10:22-25
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Matthew 13:18-23
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Luke 6:46-49
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.
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.
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.”

Acts 17:27-28
God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Romans 12:11-12
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.