03/01/2022
A lead line is a weighted rope used aboard ships to measure the depth of the water at their bow. Do we know how deep our faith has become, and do we find confidence, or perhaps complacency, in knowing it is beyond our ability to measure? As we fathom our faith, the depth and intricacy of God can often exceed our ability to determine it, and when we face such unreachable, and unsearchable depths we can often become complacent, and fall back on our own understanding, but among many other things, God’s Holy Spirit adds cord to our lead line, and reveals the deeper truths that wait for us as we sail into the unknown mysteries of God.
“these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 ESV
For many years I owned a fishing boat, and navigated the waters of the lakes and rivers near my home in pursuit of fish. Unlike the older vessels that used a lead line, in my later years I used modern technology to determine the depth of the water beneath my keel. I could see how deep the water was, whether it was decreasing or increasing in depth, every bottom structure, and even the fish that were beneath me, but before I was able to do this I would read the water looking for signs of rocks, or sand bars, and either drop a line, or stick an oar down to determine how deep the water was becoming. This older method required a knowledge of where you were on the river, or where the underwater islands were in the lakes. In other words it wasn’t a precise science, and was based more on experience.
One night, before my fancy electronics, I was running late, and was in a rush to get home. The darkness had closed in around me, and I was speeding wide open up a narrow and winding creek channel towards the boat dock. The channel was precarious, and would suddenly go from many feet deep to nearly nothing at its sides. To make matters worse there were underwater stumps at its edges, but I was had travelled this channel many times before, and was confident that I could navigate it in the pitch darkness of this night. So I ran full throttle towards home, turning this way and that as I remembered the turns that the channel made… until suddenly the lower unit of my motor hit a stump at the edge of the channel, and my boat came instantly, and violently to a stop. I was thrown forward in the impact, and my hands that had been holding the steering wheel broke it from its hub, and I crashed into the console with great force. Fortunately, other than a damaged motor, a broken steering wheel, and bruised chest and hands, I was alright. Somehow I had misjudged where I was in the channel. My overconfidence had been my undoing, and my reckless speed could have killed me. This is true of our faith as well. How many times have we been navigating life, thinking that all was well, and that we had everything under control, only to run headlong into an obstacle… an unforeseen tribulation, temptation, or sin?
“yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.””
James 4:14-15 ESV
Like the vessels of old we should slow down in life, and fathom the depths of our faith often. We should listen as the Holy Spirit guides us, and gives us the depth soundings that reassure us. In this way we will know how deep our understanding is, and feel safe in our knowledge of God. It is also remarkable to realize that we will begin to see new things. We will see depths we never knew before, and intricacies of scripture that had once been hidden as we passed over them. We see what the Holy Spirit reveals, and shouldn’t lean on our own memories, or understanding.
“That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?”
Ecclesiastes 7:24 ESV
So when was the last time we had additional cord added to the lead lines of our faith? Are we probing new depths, or cruising along confident in our current knowledge and understanding of God, and Jesus Christ? Are we running wildly down the twisted channels of life blinded by our own self-confidence, or slowly navigating with the reassurance of the Spirit’s soundings?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit who calls out to us as we navigate the world, and who marks our faith as we go. Thank you for your Son Jesus who is our harbor master, and guides us through the difficult twists and turns as we approach the final safety of your harbor, and into your presence. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who knows our hearts, and steers us this way and that as we lean on you to guide us through the dangers that confront us. Praised be your name for guiding us to safety, and for protecting us from harm when we think we know the way, and our own arrogance and complacency, cause us to run ashore. Merciful are you who gave your only begotten Son to walk across the water to rescue us, and your Holy Spirit to enlighten us, even in the darkest nights. Your grace is our guide Lord, and your love our hope. Wash us clean in the blood of Christ, and let us hear the reassuring voice of your Spirit calling out the marks of deep faith as we approach your throne of judgement. Welcome us home Father, and prepare a place for us, your sons and daughters, at your table forevermore.
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”
Romans 11:33 ESV
Rich Forbes