Diving Deep

In prayer yesterday I was seeking God’s revelation about some deep issues in the Church. I heard Him say “There are few who are willing to go deep” and I saw a brief picture – and then the conversation turned to the revelation that He wanted to bring. This morning when I came back to prayer, I saw the picture again, and felt the sadness over the shallowness that God’s people are so easily contended with – and then God started expanding it for me to share…

In the picture I was diving into a garden well. I dived down deep and kept going to where the water became dark and disorienting. I pressed in past the blackness where I couldn’t see a thing and kept going deeper. As I went deeper still I started to see beautiful sparkling lights, and as I went deeper still I saw the kind of deep-sea creatures that we see in documentaries, the ones that light up in amazing displays far out of sight of any earth-dweller.

And I received the following words:
There are few who are willing or prepared to go deep with Me, but that is where I love to meet you. That is where My hidden treasures are found. Just as it was the deep-sea adventurers who first took photos of the sparkling, secret creatures who lie in the dark, hidden places where no human had been before, and who then revealed those photos to others who could not/ would not get to those places, so I have called you to dive deep into the wellspring of life in your walk with Me.
Some are satisfied with seeing photos of the mysterious deep-sea creatures, but nothing compares to the thrill that those first divers felt when they discovered them for themselves and experienced them first-hand. I have not called you to be satisfied with photos taken by others – I have called you to dive deep with Me for yourself, to experience My treasures first-hand, and to tell others enough to whet their appetites for their own adventures into the deep with Me.
I am calling all My children to go deeper with Me – to embrace the dark places where they cannot see with their natural senses, but are prepared to press on through the darkness until they come to the place where My treasures are revealed. Not many have been willing to leave the comfort of their well ordered lives, to embrace the isolation, focus, discomfort and pressure involved in going deeper with Me, but as the darkness of these days is increasing it is more important than ever that My people discover Me as the well-spring of life in their own lives, and dive deep into places that I am yet to reveal.
You will not discover My treasures by staying in the comfort and safety of the shallows. It is those who truly and wholeheartedly devote their lives to the pursuit of Me who will share in My sparkling secrets. Those who play in the shallows might have fun getting wet and splashing each other, but their enjoyment of the experience will sooner or later grow cold, and they will leave to dry themselves and go home.
But those who immerse themselves in My deep places pay no heed to their personal comfort – their sole focus and the pursuit of their heart is to go deeper with Me.
Will you come with Me, beloved? I have wonderful treasures to reveal to you, if you will give your whole life to Me?

And God shared several verses with me, such as Is 45:3 – I will give you hidden treasures from dark, concealed places and wealth waiting in secret sites so that you recognize me, for it is I, Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name! (TPT)
(also Deut 29:29; Dan 2:22; Luke 8:17; 1 Cor 2:10)

The things that stood out to me were first of all the darkness that going deep involved. We humans like to be able to see where we are going and be in control, but in order for us to go deeper in the things of God than we have before, it takes a willingness to embrace darkness, where we can not naturally see or understand what is happening, and which sometimes involves pain and always an awareness of our own weakness and total dependence on God.

In the picture the deep dive was undertaken supernaturally (and impossibly) by just jumping into a well. The well spoke of our personal relationship with Jesus (Jn 4:14, Ps 42:1-11; Jn 7:37-39; Rev 7:16-17). In real life of course, we do not access the deepest part of the ocean through a well, and to see such amazing creatures would require extended periods of time in a cramped but reinforced submarine, specially equipped to withstand the pressure at the deepest parts of the ocean (as well as months if not years of preparation). This really spoke to me of the single-minded focus and character development required in going deep with God. It’s not something that happens on a whim – it takes dedication and devotion, and a willingness to experience seasons of isolation from others and a lack of comfort and the freedoms we take for granted.

And as God spoke to me of the ones playing in the shallows & then leaving I felt such a sense of urgent warning, that reminded me of Matt 24:12 where Jesus said in the last days the love of many will grow cold. There is little doubt that these last days are growing darker – so we must be on guard that we do not let ourselves be satisfied with a shallow experience of God, but focus and dedicate ourselves to pressing in to deep, deep places with Him, beyond the point where we can see with our natural eyes but are fully dependant on Him and where He reveals His glorious hidden treasures. Amen!