Deep End

"Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;"

We are in the deep end folks. Just a few things going on...
We just had a baby. Like 6 weeks ago. That is awesome. And overwhelming. And awesome. Repeat.
We are moving across the country to plant a church in three months.
There are at least 100,000 people in Siouxland unconnected with a community of faith. (by our estimates) There is a city desperate for hope and good news of a God in love and in search of people.
We will need to love and serve the people of Sioux City in meaningful, tangible ways. This will take creativity, wisdom, passion, and vision.
It will take leaders, people, financial resources, and much more to plant in Sioux City.
We are searching for a new Lead Pastor for Hopesprings in Bangor.

We are out of our depth.
This work is beyond us.

Yesterday I was feeling the weight of the need and the scope of the work ahead of us, and it felt deep. Heavy. Much too much for us to handle. And you know what? It IS too much for us to handle.

This is a good thing.

I was reflecting on Psalm 42, where the writer is in the pit; he's been crushed by the weight of life and feeling despair. He is in a horrible place. We are not in a horrible place, but I can relate to being in a deep place...a weighty place. A place where the writer feels overwhelmed. It is there, in that place, where deep calls to deep. Where he experiences love and hope, and the ability to question the weight of life that feels like a brick on his chest.

In the deep places when we are overwhelmed, when we don't have it together, when we are lost, broken, disheveled...these are the places where we meet God. In our need and desperation. There is good news for folks who find themselves in the deep end...

Jesus comes for the lost.
Jesus comes for the sick.
Jesus comes for the enslaved.
Jesus comes for the brokenhearted.
Jesus comes for the overwhelmed.

The realization that we don't have everything together creates space in our lives for God to work and for us to find resurrection in Jesus. The realization that the work is God's, that this is His Kingdom, that He is the one who will bring the resources and people to build His church, frees us up to focus instead of freak out.