There were three of us that made the trip out to the island to snorkel. One guy goes regularly – he had no problems. For me it always requires some mental coaching to stick my face in the water and breathe through the tube. I’m constantly reminding myself, “Relax. You can breathe. It’ll be good.” One person in our group had never snorkeled before. After about five minutes she gave up. She couldn’t bring herself to trust the snorkel.
My face mask leaked water sometimes, so I’d have to stop often and empty it. It was frustrating. But it was also worth it. It was worth taking a risk on the snorkel and worth sticking my face in the water. The fish were amazing. The coral, sea urchins, sponges – it was absolutely beautiful. I had a staring contest with a fish for about 30 seconds. The fish won.
I got to thinking about trusting God. Sometimes people have a hard time trusting Him. Maybe they get frustrated because things don’t go smoothly or the way they anticipated. They wonder if there’s a point, if there’s any benefit. But when you trust God, He reveals awesome and beautiful things hidden from the naked eye. The things were always there, but they were hidden just below the surface. If you give up too soon or if you refuse to trust Him, you’ll miss out.
God is more vast and full than the ocean. Just like the ocean water was teeming with life, He is full to overflowing with abundant life. That kind of fullness and delight are what He wants to give us, for us to swim around in and be completely saturated with.
It’s hard to put your heart in the water. You understand that it’s your life, your one life, that’s on the line and you don’t want to lose it. But Jesus said, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” (Luke 9:24). God is completely trustworthy. And if you will put your heart in the water because you desire to gain the abundance He offers in Christ more than you fear drowning, you will find it is absolutely beautiful and totally worth it.