Articles, Questions, & Answers

By Alice Smith

He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. (Psalm 103:7, KJV)

One day, as I sought the Lord in my prayer time, I wept over several painful experiences in my past. "Lord, how can I understand your ways?" I asked. As I waited expectantly on the floor of my prayer closet, the Lord reminded me of Isaiah 55:8, where He says that His ways are not like our ways, nor His thoughts like our thoughts. Then He gave me a vision of what He often does to help us understand the way He works in our lives.

Imagine that you are a leaf that has fallen from a tree. The wind picks you up and blows you into a briskly flowing river—your life. You tumble through the rush of life’s demands at an alarming pace. Week after week you bump up against the world system. Although you dip into deeper waters for an hour or two on Sunday morning, seeking a touch of God, the river is unrelenting. On Monday morning you once again get caught up in the twigs and debris of the material world. You know the Lord, and you long to know Him more; yet you are soulishly directed. Instead of depending on the Holy Spirit as your rudder, you aimlessly drift through life — always in a hurry and never quite sure why.

At times the leaf (you) gets sidetracked into a tributary. Here the water is still and stagnant, and you get stuck in the mud. The dark night of the soul begins to fall and you suppose that God has forgotten you. Eventually the rains return and the torrents dislodge you from the mire. Back into the river you go, bumping against the riverbank — tumbling and tossing through life. Eventually the river empties into the vast ocean. Get ready! Your life is about to be changed forever. For it is in the depths that God reveals His ways to you. King David said it well: "Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me" (Ps. 42:7, NKJV).

As you earnestly seek the Lord, a large wave crests above you. You cry out to God to know Him, and the wave crashes and washes you with His love. Yet the pull of the current is strong along the ocean floor. As a 12-year-old, I once was caught in an undertow at the beach. To submit to the current would have proven deadly; instead I resisted and lived. God’s ways work differently. He is pulling you into the deep in order to bring you to death to self. Do not resist His work.

As the waves continue to break, you are pulled to the ocean’s floor where you are helpless. Self-sufficiency is gone and death to self begins. The ocean floor is dark and undisturbed. The only hope you have is divine illumination–God-directed living. The pressure at this depth is great. After all, you are now under the weight of Almighty God who wants you to be still and know that He is God. He wants you to resign yourself and to submit to the process. This is no time to fight Him. For it is here that you learn His ways, which are utterly different from yours.

This process may take months or even years. Death to self creates desperation, and desperation creates a hunger. Hunger provokes a pursuit of God. It is in this pursuit of God that you are led to purity of character and a purging of your behavior.

I have great news for you! What we try to crucify on our own rots; but what the Lord puts to death He resurrects! It is well worth the journey to move from the busy river into the deep waters with God. From this experience you can expect to gain a renewed confidence in the Lord and a huge impartation of faith — not just any faith but God faith. This faith is instilled by the Spirit of the Lord and cannot be self-generated. Others cannot go with you into the deep; you must experience this phenomenon alone.

Do you trust the Father with your life? Are you willing to journey into the deep with God? Don’t wait until you understand the process, because you never fully will. It is beyond the mind’s ability to comprehend. Just be willing to say, "I’m ready . . . let’s go." Do you want to know God’s ways? Then launch into the deep with Him today.