Heart of Worship Tuesday: Oceans

In the past few years, a song has touched me like no other. It began as a contemporary worship song penned by Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, and Salomon Ligtelm.

The story behind this song is simply that it is based on the story of Peter in the New Testament walking on the water to Jesus. (Matt. 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-56, John 6:16-24.)

The song contains these words:

You call me out upon the water
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 fears surround me
You never fail and You won't start now

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
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 faith could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior

This song describes the call from God to us to step out in absolute faith. He asks things of us that seem terrifying and impossible at times. Peter asked Jesus if he could come to Him on the water, and Jesus told him to do so. Peter, in absolute faith, stepped onto the water and began to walk! A mere man walked on water!

Granted, he did fall when he took his eyes off of Jesus. But, that is life; yet Peter still had faith that Jesus would save him, which is why he cried out to Him to do so. When we fall, that is EXACTLY what we should do: cry out to Jesus! The song itself is a resolve to choose to keep their "eyes above the waves" and stay focused on Christ. It is to trust that He will never lead us wrong, no matter where it goes.

Then, the song asks the spirit to "lead me where my trust is without borders". This is the kind of faith we should have. Borders denote limits, or even fear. True, fruit producing faith in Christ breaks down these limits and fears we have. As human beings, we often think that we are unable to do something that God asks of us. With God, there is nothing we cannot do, and nothing is impossible. We just have to take a deep breath and let go, and tell God that we will submit to whatever His will is. He knows better than we do, and His plan is so great and vast like the ocean. We just have to walk it and keep our eyes on Him the best that we can.

"What is impossible for man, is possible for God."- Luke 18:27

"...For Truly, I say to you, if you have faith like the grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'move from here to there', and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."-Matthew 17:20