Don’t Drown in Shallow Water
By Grant Gaines
It happens to everyone. Regardless of age, experience, or maturity level, it’s simply human nature to relax our guard when we’re comfortable. It happens all the time in the world of sports, particularly during the March Madness college basketball tournament. Every single year a top ranked team falls victim to relaxing their guard or “drowning in shallow water” because they overlook their measly opponent and end up losing a game they should have won. These shocking underdog victories are so common, in fact, that most college basketball fans believe the first several rounds of the Tournament are the most thrilling moments in sports because of all the David vs. Goliath type upsets.
But relaxing one’s guard does not only occur in sports, it’s a pretty common occurrence in our own everyday lives. Did you know that 52% of all car wrecks occur within five miles of home[1]? That’s right, the most dangerous place you will ever drive is not the highway during rush hour traffic, not a dark, lonely town, or an unknown, foreign destination, but your very own neighborhood. The same holds true for drowning—the majority of deaths due to drowning do not occur on the high seas or rapid rivers but rather in reasonably calm and shallow water.
“Why?” you may ask. Because it’s simply our human nature to relax our guard when we are comfortable, but if we’re not careful we just might end up drowning in shallow water like Peter in Matthew 14.
You know the story—Jesus sent His disciples ahead of Him across the Sea of Galilee while He went up on the mountainside to pray (Matthew 14:22-23). As the disciples were in the middle of the Sea (Mark 6:47)—about three and a half miles out (John 6:19)—a massive storm began to rock the boat as well as its passengers. It was at that time that Jesus began to make His way out to the disciples, walking on the water.
“When the disciples saw [Jesus] walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear” (Matthew 14:26, NIV). But Jesus quickly affirmed the disciples which gave Peter the confidence to courageously ask Jesus, “Lord if it’s you…tell me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28, NIV).
Much to everyone’s surprise, that’s exactly what Jesus did. So, “…Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus” (Matthew 14:29, NIV). But it wasn’t long into his ground breaking…or should I say water-breaking experience that Peter began to look at the size of the waves around him and began to sink (or if Peter was anything like me, he was not so concerned with the size of the waves but the fear of a shark that would surly find him!). As the story concludes, we read of Jesus saving Peter and the two making their way back to the boat.
But John throws an interesting twist into the story as he points out that as soon as Jesus and Peter got back to the boat, “…immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” (John 6:21, NIV). Now I don’t know how long it took Jesus to walk to the disciples’ boat or how long the Peter-walking-on-water experiment lasted, but apparently by the time Jesus had called Peter out onto the water, the boat had been driven by the storm from the middle of the Sea to a spot just off the shore.
That means that Peter was drowning in shallow water. Sure, it may have been 100-200 yards off the coast, but at least it wasn’t three and a half miles out in the middle of the Sea like they were when Jesus first left the mountain to come to them. And we also know from John 20:7-8 that Peter was a pretty good swimmer. Peter simply let his guard down and began to sink. And who can blame him? Wasn’t he walking towards Jesus as he tread upon the waters? How could you be any safer than when you are getting closer to God?
But that’s exactly what Satan wants you to think. You see, I believe that we are all in water of some sort and the only thing that separates us from others is the depth of the water which we are in. Some of us are in deep waters—and by deep waters I mean those obvious, outlandish sins such as premarital sex, alcoholism, drug abuse, or murder. Others of us are in shallow water—and by shallow water I mean those sins that are easily overlooked by ourselves and by others such as anger, jealousy, lust, pride, and fear. 1 Timothy 5:24 (NIV) supports this thought by saying, “The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.”
Now I don’t know who you are but I do know that for whatever reason you’re reading a Christian blog today which leads me to believe that of the two options you are most likely in shallow waters. And here’s the problem with being in shallow waters—you let your guard down. And just like Peter in Matthew 14:29-30, when we let our guard down and take our eyes off of Jesus, we begin to drown.
We look at our life and see these shallow water sins such as pride, body image, porn, people pleasing, or idolatry and we shrug them off because they are not the deep water sins of the unbelieving world. But that’s the exact reaction Satan is hoping for.
Do you know how much water it takes to physically drown an adult human being? Two inches. That’s all it takes—two measly inches. What a brilliant plan Satan has formulated—don’t tempt Christians with deep water sins such as murder or robbing a bank, but tempt them with sins that both they and their accountability partner will glaze over with a “you’ll do better next time, no big deal” mentality. You see, Satan doesn’t care if you’re in two inches of water or two miles of water as long as he can drown you, he’s happy. I wonder how many Christians today are drowning in two inches of water because we let our guard down to the shallow water sins that Satan has us in.
But are you finally ready for some good news? Just as Satan doesn’t care the depth of the water in which he can drown you in, Jesus doesn’t care the depth of the water in which He has to come save you in because the depth of the water is not issue when you can walk on top of the water.
“But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him…” (Matthew 14:30-31, NIV). Notice how long it took for Jesus to save Peter after Peter cried out for help—immediately.
Don’t you know that Jesus would do the same for you today if you would only cry out for His help? You may be in deep waters or you may be in shallow waters but Jesus wants you to know that He is standing right there waiting to extend His hand to help you through whatever you are struggling with in your life right now. He is the, “…ever-present help in trouble” (Palms 46:1, NIV). All you have to do is cry out for His help. I pray that today would be the day that you stop overlooking the shallow water sins that you are wallowing in and ask God to rescue you from sin’s powerful grasp.
Don’t be like the top ranked basketball teams in the March Madness Tournament by overlooking your opponent and don’t be like Peter by drowning in shallow water.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
©Grant Gaines 2013
