Dig Deep

When it comes to walking by faith, what if you’re only scratching the surface? What if there’s more that God intends for you?

Although I grew up in church, said a prayer asking Jesus into my life, and went to Bible college after high school, my faith didn’t really take root until thirteen years ago. After giving birth to my daughter, I went through a season I have often referred to as the “dark night of my soul.” Postpartum hormones, spiritual warfare, and a lifetime of unhealthy thinking collided. My mind was a mess. But God’s grace found me there. I saturated myself in God’s Word and prayed fervently. This was my focus for days, weeks, and even months.

And God began to increasingly make His hand evident in my life. Eventually I had a big breakthrough. Confusion gave way to clarity. Fear gave way to faith. And despair gave way to dreams.

My desperation led to a relentless pursuit of the Lord that brought immense fruit. Were it not for the darkness I went through, I would not have pressed into Jesus with such intensity, and therefore I would not have come to know the Lord in the way that I did.

There is always more to know about our God. He is magnificent, and if we begin to think we have Him figured out, you can be sure we don’t. Although His Word shows us for sure what is true about Him, we can always grow in our intimacy with the Lord and our personal knowledge of Him.

But are we only scratching the surface? Could we know Him more? Could we walk by greater faith?

I think we too often miss out on the abundance He has for us because we aren’t really pursuing Him as we could. We’ve got the basics covered. We read our Bibles every day. We pray in the morning and at night. We attend church and Bible studies. We surround ourselves with Christians. But we’re not really flourishing as God intended us to.

C.S. Lewis captured the problem quite profoundly:

“It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Maybe you don’t get caught up in unhealthy sexual pursuits or drunkenness, but how’s your ambition? What are you pursuing? How fully do you give yourself to the pursuit of Jesus?

Maybe you’re missing out because you’re not all in.

God’s Word says that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6b).

God once told His people, “’You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.’” Jeremiah 29:13

Thirteen years ago, I found a beautiful depth of intimacy with the Lord because I diligently sought Him with all my heart. But it’s not once and done. Diligently seeking Him with all that we are is something to be done again and again. It’s a lifestyle.

The last several years were not easy for me on many levels. But I consistently tended to my soul and my relationship with the Lord. As a result, I experienced growth and breakthrough in various ways, yet I also had this feeling that I was stuck and spinning my wheels. God revealed to me that I had fallen into the habit of begging Him for good things as though He was withholding from me. He challenged me to start believing Him for the things He promised in His Word.

About the same time the Lord revealed this to me, the heat of fiery trials intensified. Some heavy parenting burdens and other intense circumstances put me into a place of desperation once again. And it lit a fire of faith in me to passionately pursue the Lord and all He has promised to me as His child.

A fierce resolve etched itself within me: DIG DEEP!

And so, I have been digging deep.

But what does digging deep look like? It means giving it all you’ve got. Fasting. Praying continually. Saturating yourself in the Word. Speaking the scriptures out loud all throughout your day. Practicing gratitude before the Lord. Worshiping Him.

Digging deep means looking a little radical or obsessed because there is no plan B. Jesus is your source, your hope, your everything. Therefore, you apply and activate your faith in every way you know how with every moment and breath you’ve got. It means knowing that just because your prayers haven’t been answered yet doesn’t mean the answers aren’t coming.

Jesus Himself said, “’Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.’”

Our God is good and trustworthy. He is amazing and desirable. He offers us abundance. Don’t miss out because you’re far too easily pleased.

Stop living in survival mode where you’re only scratching the surface. You were made to thrive. Dig Deep!

Jesus, forgive me for being far too easily pleased by the things of this world. You have so much more for me! Thank You for Your kind intentions. Show me what I need to give up so that I can seek You diligently with my whole heart. Show me personally how to dig deep and walk by faith. In Your Name, Amen! 

Kimberly Vaughn

Kimberly Vaughn is The Connection’s blog editor, as well as a co-leader for their mentoring program, “Together.” She is a wife and a homeschool mom of two. Kimberly has a passion to encourage and build up other women, especially those who are hurting and broken. She has been involved in various aspects of ministry since graduating from Bible college over 15 years ago.  It is her desire for women to experience hope and transformation in Jesus through the words she writes and speaks.