“Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.” (Psalm 42:7 ESV) I was sitting in a class at my church when I first heard these words repeating themselves in my head. “Deep calls out to deep, deep calls out to deep, deep calls out to deep …”

Selah.

I love to journal. I have been writing down my thoughts for years. Sometimes clarity comes much faster when I write something out so I can process what I am thinking. I carry my journal and my pretty little travel Bible with me wherever I go. You never know when you might need to write something down. Golden nuggets of truth can be found almost anywhere; you just have to look for them.

One day when I went to get my Bible and journal from my purse, all I found was my journal. I searched high and low for my Bible and couldn’t find it anywhere. After a couple days went by I came to a point where I missed His Word so much, it was if I hadn’t eaten in days and my body needed nourishment to go on.

I have to admit, the love for God’s Word hasn’t always been in my heart. In the past I could get by with reading a scripture here and there. I would, at times, read it because it was the “right” thing to do and I could proudly place a check beside my “spiritual duty” for the day.

Then something amazing happened …

One day, while going through a very difficult time in my life, I was sitting at the dining room table trying to read the Bible when something was different. I needed something to help me this day and this particular morning the Word of God became LIFE to me! It was a rhema, life-giving word and a transformation happened where no longer were the scriptures simply words printed on a page; it was as if God Himself breathed His everlasting life inside of me through His Word and my heart was forever changed. It was at this time that I invited the Holy Spirit to continually touch me through the Word of God.

Since this transformation, I hadn’t realized how much I needed His Word until it was gone. This particular Bible was very special to me.

It had become a vital part of my everyday growth. It had gone to battle with me and was there to catch every hidden tear. Together we rejoiced in every new revelation and paused in many Selah moments. Nothing can take away what God’s Word has done in my heart.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

During the time of searching for my Bible, the Lord reminded me of the Words He had placed on my heart months ago: “Deep calls out to deep.” I went straight to His Word (of course I had to use another Bible in the house because my favorite one was missing). I looked up Psalm 42:7 and began to dissect the scripture. I read it in its full context and looked up the Hebrew meanings of the words, deep and call. Here it is again. I think it’s worth repeating:

“Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.” (Psalm 42:7 ESV)

David starts out in the beginning of Psalm 42 comparing a deer panting for its last breath of life to get a drink of water to his soul longing for more of God. Thirsting for the very presence of the Almighty, he continues with his soul being distraught because of circumstances around him. We reach verse 7 where he cries out from the deepest places of his heart to the deepest places of God’s heart, while hearing God’s voice roaring like the water falls and feeling His continuous waves of mercy flowing over him. He ends the chapter with a new hope in God, thanking Him for his salvation.

Stay with me now …

The Hebrew word for deep is “tehowm,” which refers to a deep place, an abyss (an immeasurable deep chasm, depth, or void). The Hebrew word for calls is “qara” which means to call unto, to summon, to invite.

The Strong’s concordance says that “qara” also conveys the idea of someone accosting you by boldly and aggressively calling you to come closer and meet.

The pieces were all starting to be put together. The Lord used my lost Bible to show me that His spirit, the Holy Spirit was yearning to fill the immeasurably deep places in my soul. I had been longing for this connection with my God, and my spirit was being nourished again.

Every human life was created with an empty void, called our soul. God desires to fill that deep place with His Holy Spirit so we will no longer be empty, but completely satisfied in Him.

In the midst of writing this article, I found my Bible! It was a sweet reunion that will be a daily reminder of the ever-changing transformation He continues to do in my heart. I love that even when my heart is changing, His love remains the same.

Will you join me in asking God to fill the deepest places of our hearts? He is calling from the depths of the ocean of His love …

Lord, it is my prayer that this year is a year that I go deeper with you. My heart’s cry is that I would never become complacent, but would always be seeking Your face, no matter what season of life I find myself in. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Psalm 63 echoes my heart and, I hope, your heart, too:
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.