It was a very rainy, beautiful start to Labor Day today, so when I woke up, I was immediately reminded of this song that I heard in the background while at church yesterday. Oceans, and the rest of the Zion CD, was released by Hillsong United earlier in the year (on my birthday!), and it’s one of the more well-known songs on this CD, but I hadn’t really taken the time to listen to the words and engage with it in worship. From the very first words, to the bridge of the song, I felt it as a true prayer of my heart. Talking about the worldwide response to the song, the band members express how this song applies to us all, no matter where we are in life, whether it be questioning who God is, or walking with God for years. It’s all the same basic situation: we come to places in life where we have to step out in faith, “the great unknown”, because God always wants to take us deeper in Him and do crazy things in this world with our lives.

You called me out upon the waters
The great unknown, where feet may fail..

..Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now..

..Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith would be made stronger in the presence of my Saviour…

These words are such a cry of my heart. I just.. feel like screaming in joy to anyone who will listen, “Do you see this?! Do you understand what this means?!” In the video about the Oceans story, Joel Houston sums up the message of the song to me in just two, profound words: “It’s about raw trust.” Those words – raw trust – are mind-blowing! I just imagine a girl (probably myself, since I can’t swim), stepping into the ocean of life, and trusting God without limit, even past the point where my feet can touch the ocean floor (which, let’s be serious, wouldn’t be too far!).

I am completely a beach person for typical reasons – most of my family vacations have been on a beach, and it represents peaceful and joyous, carefree times to me. But it’s not just the beach; it’s the melding of the sand with the unending ocean that I love. It’s the ocean that draws me in. Relaxing on the sand is great for a time, but there comes a point where I can’t hold myself back from stepping into the ocean and pushing forward past where I know I can support myself. I have to place complete trust and unshakeable faith in my Father, knowing He’s called me to amazing places and that He’ll lead me through the unknown. And the best part? It’s knowing that I’m not jumping into the ocean blindly without God’s help. He’s there, full of grace, leading me deeper in Him.

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine