Psalm 136:12: With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, For His mercy endures forever
If you were on the ground lying in a puddle of water and someone reached down to help you out of it, you would be grateful for the help, but the extent of your gratitude would be comparatively limited. Now suppose your lying in a wading pool – the water is only about 6 inches deep – and you can’t get up. Someone reaches down and helps you get up. Again, you’re appreciative of the help this person has provided – probably more so than for the one who pulled you up out of the puddle. Finally, think of yourself being in 100 feet of water, trapped, and running out of air to breathe. What kind of appreciation would you have for the person who reaches down and pulls you to safety? Chances are your level of gratitude for this individual dramatically increases. This is the case because you were fully aware of the desperation and awareness of your situation.
Now imagine the level of water you’re in being a symbol of your known condition before God before knowing Jesus Christ. If you have a sense that you’re basically a decent person – haven’t done too many bad things and your life is moving along without too many trials, you might be thinking you really don’t have much need for God. You may think either you’re getting along well enough without Him, or maybe because the way life is going is an indication that God seems to be okay or pleased with the way you’re living. That may be your interpretation, but that is not God’s. Hebrew’s 11:6 reminds us that it is impossible to please God without faith.
Satan has done a masterful job of convincing generation after generation that we don’t need God – we’re good on our own. Holding onto that lie is the equivalent of you lying in a puddle of water – your situation isn’t so bad, therefore, if someone were to help you up, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Even if you were to start to think about the existence of God, your self-assessment of your condition is overstated before God; therefore, your sense of a need for God is likely understated. Whether you don’t think you need God or if you just think having an acknowledgment of God is sufficient, Satan has you where he wants you – separated from God.
In the book of Exodus, God gives Moses the 10 commandments – often times referred to as the “Law”. The Jews were challenged to live according to the Law, but if they did not, they would be guilty before God. They believed that if they lived in perfect obedience to the Law, they would be innocent and have a good relationship with God. They completely misunderstood the purpose of the Law. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul made it clear regarding its purpose, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (3:20) What Paul was saying then is true for us now – attempting to live perfectly by the Law reveals our absolute inability to make ourselves declared “not guilty” before God. Its purpose is for us to recognize His holy standard for living isn’t attainable with our sinful nature, and we need God’s forgiveness to be declared “not guilty”.
Without an understanding of God, our sinful nature will attempt to justify our sins by comparing to others whose are “much worse”. That’s not how it works with the Lord. Our life is to be measured against a perfect and holy God, and the more we understand who He is, the guiltier we see ourselves before Him. In other words, the deeper the water we get into. The good news is God already knows this, and His Son’s arm is ready to reach down and pull us up. All we have to do is call on His name, confess our sins to Him, and He is faithful and just to forgive us.
One other thing to remember – as you begin to comprehend of ‘how deep the water of your condition is’ – don’t believe the lie that you’re in too deep. While we need to fully appreciate that the shadow of the cross gets much longer the farther below from which we view it, we need to know that His arms were stretched wide as a sacrifice. They’re much longer as a Savior. Will you reach out to Him?