God has been speaking to me through a powerful song this week, and I am impressed to share it with you. I have pasted the lyrics below, but I also invite you to listen to the song by Hillsongs United: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) . You’ll find it by clicking here on youtube.
Take a few moments now to meditate upon the lyrics:
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) — By Hillsongs Unted
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
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
Oh, Jesus, you’re my God!
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”
As you read this song, you will notice, as I did, that the words say we are called “out upon the waters where feet may fail.”
This is kind of a scary concept, wouldn’t you say? I mean, who wants to go where you know your feet may fail?
But then, it’s just a song, right?
Or is it really more than that?
Let’s take a moment to look at the Biblical story this song is based upon:
“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” (Matt 14:22-32)
As each of us walks life, we can relate to Peter in the storm. Oh, our storms may not be literal ones that could overturn a fishing boat, but they are storms just the same. They may be financial difficulties, changes in health, relationship problems, car problems, appliances breaking down, problems with teens, etc. But just what our storms look like is completely irrelevant. What’s important is that there are many lessons we can learn from this passage of scripture to help us during our storms, and these will be the focus of the upcoming 8 devotionals.
For today, I ask you to prayerfully meditate upon the words of the song, Oceans, for God has indeed called each of us out upon the waters where our feet may fail. But it is there that we find Him in the mystery, and in the deep oceans of our circumstances, whatever they may be, our feet will stand!
Please join us on Saturday, for ‘Ocean’s Deep, Part 2’.
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
(To access the entire “Oceans Deep” mini-series, please click here.)