Oceans – Revisited

A couple of months ago, I posted a link to the song ‘Oceans’. At the time, I commented that the song was profound; lately, I have increasingly come to realise just how profound, and indeed I am still hearing God’s Voice through it.

Here are the lyrics once again:

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

(Oceans by Crocker, Houston & Ligthelm)

When we are completely out of our depth in life, when everything is too much, when fear and horror surround us, God is there. Where feet may fail and fear surrounds us, He’s never failed, and He won’t start now.

‘ Walking on the water’ is not simply something that St. Peter did 2,000 years ago on the Sea of Galilee. Figuratively, it’s something we all have to learn to do if we want to weather the storms that life throws at us. Granted, in our own strength, we can try to do this, and I’m not saying that it’s not humanly possible. But why not tap into the immense, unlimited reservoirs of God’s peace and grace as we navigate life’s storms? He walks right by us, holding us up.

How to do this? Keep your eyes on Jesus. Remember, it’s all about Jesus! He’s the One Who has already been there; He’s the One Who has borne all our burdens – all our burdens! in His Body on the Cross. He’s borne our sickness, our grief, our strife, everything (as prophesied in about 800BC in Isaiah 53:4ff) – all our burdens. Keep your eyes on Him, and you will walk on the water of the storms of life without going under.

And this bears fruit in your Christian walk. Let’s look at the lyrics again:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Read that again and again. I can’t add anything to that lyric; I will let it speak for itself. This is why that musical passage is sung over and over in this rendition of the song. This is the core of the whole thing. Holy Spirit, lead us where our trust is without borders. Unlimited trust.

You only need trust like that when you are completely out of your depth. And that’s where you learn to trust Him completely – and that trust will not be in vain.

Here is the song again. Sit down, plug in your headphones, ignore the cheesy graphics (preferably by closing your eyes) and just soak. Let the Spirit of God soak your life with His security and His peace, no matter how deep are the waters He’s having you walk on at the moment.

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