This past week we had the major blessing of snorkeling in the Atlantic Ocean in an area that’s home to some of the most beautiful coral reefs and fish in the world. For most of that, we had to join a tour where the boat captain stops in the middle of “nowhere” on the surface. But underneath, once we entered the water, a whole new vista opened up to us (cue song “Whole New World”).

We wouldn’t have discovered any of that majestic variety or beauty had we not literally looked beneath the surface. With people and life’s circumstances, the same applies. If we take them at face value and only consider the surface, externals, we may become bored, annoyed, fearful, depressed, misjudge, etc.

To see, discern, and thus respond the way the Lord does, we need to go deeper. As it says in 1 Sam. 16:7— “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

That’s certainly consoling to many of us who, like David in the Bible, don’t appear too great on the outside. But there’s even more consolation to be found for those who are willing to seek it from the Lord and not give up until we find it.

He showed me this while snorkeling near the shore at a small beach in the same area where the big boat tours go. Those familiar with this rocky beach and shallower water warned me, “You won’t see much here, maybe nothing.” But I thought, “Hey, any kind of snorkeling is special and fun for those of us who don’t live near the ocean.” So off I went, into the not-so-deep.

For a while there was nothing but darkness and flying sand and debris coming toward me in the water. At that point I could have decided “yeah, nothing here worth being in or seeing” and turned back.

Still, the hope of finding more drew me deeper and farther, so I kept swimming toward the buoy. Not too long after it got lighter, until a deeper ocean-bottom opened up, where the sun shone through the water onto a beautiful coral bed below with a few fish and then a whole school of them! I lingered there for a while, enjoying the scene and sunlight, and eventually swam back.

The folks who’d declared “nothing worth seeing” had already left. But there were some bigger kids in the shallow part who asked me if there was anything out there. I related what I’d seen and experienced and encouraged them to check it out. They did and came back glad they’d ventured out.

Then a woman on shore asked me how to get her mask and goggles on, confessing she’d never done snorkeling before, and wondered whether it would be safe to enter the water. “Are there sharks in there?”

I assured her it was safe and advised her to “keep pressing on” past the dark, debris, and foggy part until she reached that beautiful clearing, and pointed out where to go. After some hesitation and more encouragement on my part, she took the plunge. That made me glad, to brighten someone’s day like that.

The next morning’s devotional reading in our One Year Bible contained Psalm 94:19–

“When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul.”

Immediately the Spirit brought my mini snorkeling adventure to mind–

A multitude of troubles and cares can bombard our hearts like that sand and debris “flying” at me in the water. To make matters worse, all can appear dark and hopeless around us.

But if we keep going, persevering, pressing on and moving forward, our surroundings will open up. His Son-light will shine through, making His consolations visible to us if we only look.

Then we’ll experience the joy and beauty of each one—some individual nuggets of encouragement and some that come in clusters, along with the rock-solid “coral” of His everlasting truth.

After that, we have another choice—We can either keep all that good news to ourselves, or we can share it. Share it with those playing and complacent in the shallows, not realizing there’s so much more to life than that. Share it with those who feel they dare not venture out, for fear of wasted effort, failure, or, worse yet, suffering irreversible harm.

We may even need to guide those we share with to the Source of that good news. Like Andrew the Disciple did with his brother Simon (Peter):

“The first thing Andrew did then [after going to see Jesus] was to find his brother Simon. He said, `We have found the Messiah!’ (which means Christ). Andrew brought Simon to Jesus…” Jn. 1:41-42

What about ourselves? Are we complacent or fearful, either oblivious to our need to go deeper or afraid to, not “getting it” when it comes to developing our relationship with the Lord? Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians applies to all of us (especially when we forget), that we–

“…may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Eph. 3:18-19

Thank Him for His consolations that always cheer us and overcome the burdens of our heart. And for the beauty of going deeper and farther with Him. May we always keep “swimming”, past the doldrums, dark, and debris until we find them!