Monday, August 30, 2021

"Equalize!"

Psalm 138.3 NKJV 

“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, 
And made me bold with strength in my soul.”

When I was in college, I worked on a commercial fishing vessel in Alaska. My nickname was “Flip” (short for Flipper) because I was the ship’s scuba diver. I’ve dived in Puget Sound, Dutch Harbor, Ketchikan, Maui, Puerto Vallarta, and the San Juan Islands (and snorkeled in the Philippines).

One of the most basic principles of scuba diving is called equalization. As you descend below the surface, columns of water pressure become unbearable unless you equalize. This is easily done by squeezing your nose and blowing. The pain in your ears is immediately remedied. The pressure on the inside ‘equals’ the pressure on the outside and you have a comfortable diving experience.

A multitude of pressures routinely come to bear on me… fear, stress, worry, boredom, unforgiveness, apathy, temptation, bitterness, selfishness, anxiety, judgmental-ism, exhaustion, pettiness, impatience, anger, greed, prejudice, self-indulgence, entitlement, etc., etc. As I descend the murky depths of life, these pressures often seem too much to bear. I cry out to Jesus and He fills me with a supernatural force of boldness that is amazingly and exactly equal to the external pressure I am facing. He pours “strength in my soul” and I am spiritually equalized.

I hold both NAUI and PADI scuba diving certifications, but I depend mostly on my JESUS certification. Jesus is the best dive instructor (and equalizing force) I’ve ever known.

“In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.”

2 comments:

One Sided said...

Your message is a blessing to me this mornig. I am in need of that equalizing force. With the possible exceptions of boredom and apathy, I belive I recognize all of the others.
I seek your prayer support. My wife's health, is not real good at the moment. She gave up her home business last year and yeaterday resigned as a pre-school teacher.
I hate to see my wife cry.

davescriven said...

Hi Larry,

Thank you so much for your comments. I appreciate you, brother, and you certainly have my prayers. I am so touched by your heart for your wife. I am hurting right now for you and your precious wife. Thank you for sharing with me.

Dave