This Weeks Biblical Lesson: Learning to Breathe in the Depths of Grace

This week’s biblical lesson is derived from the poem “Breathing Under Water,” which I encountered while listening to the podcast “Rethinking God With Tocos.”

Breathing under water

I built my house by the sea.

Not on the sands, mind you; not on the shifting sand.

And I built it of rock.

A strong house, by a strong sea.

And we got well acquainted, the sea and I.

Good neighbors.

Not that we spoke much.

We met in silences.

Respectful, keeping our distance,

but looking our thoughts across the fence of sand.

Always, the fence of sand our barrier,

always, the sand between.

And then one day,

-and I still don’t know how it happened -the sea came.

Without warning.

Without welcome, even

Not sudden and swift, but a shifting across the sand like wine,

less like the flow of water than the flow of blood.

Slow, but coming.

Slow, but flowing like an open wound.

And I thought of flight and I thought of drowning and I thought of death.

And while I thought the sea crept higher, till it reached my door.

And I knew, then, there was neither flight, nor death, nor drowning.

That when the sea comes calling, you stop being neighbors,

Well acquainted, friendly-at-a-distance neighbors,

And you give your house for a coral castle,

And you learn to breathe underwater.

Key Scripture Passages

* Matthew 7:24–25

* Psalm 42:7

* 2 Corinthians 12:9

Reflection

The poem begins with a sense of security—building a house on rock, not sand. It’s a nod to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7, where the wise builder chooses a foundation that can withstand storms. But the poem doesn’t end in safety. It moves into mystery, into the unpredictable movement of the sea—symbolic of life’s uncontrollable forces, or perhaps the Spirit of God itself.

The sea, once a distant neighbor, becomes intimate. It crosses boundaries. It enters the home. And the speaker, faced with fear—flight, drowning, death—discovers something unexpected: not destruction, but transformation. The house becomes a coral castle. The speaker learns to breathe underwater.

This is the essence of grace. It doesn’t always come gently. Sometimes it floods our lives, dismantles our certainties, and asks us to live in a way we never imagined. But in the depths, we find new breath. We learn to live not by control, but by trust. Not by resisting the sea, but by letting it carry us.

Psalm 42 speaks of “deep calling to deep”—a divine invitation to go beneath the surface, into the soul’s hidden places. And Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians remind us that grace meets us in weakness, not strength. It teaches us to breathe where we thought we’d drown.

Application

* Embrace the Flood: When life overwhelms, don’t rush to escape. Ask what grace might be doing in the depths.

* Learn to Breathe Differently: Let go of old patterns of control. Trust that God equips you to live in new spiritual terrain.

* Let Your House Become a Coral Castle: Transformation may look like loss at first—but it often leads to beauty, resilience, and renewal.

* Be Present to Others in Their Floods: Offer companionship, not solutions. Sometimes the best gift is simply breathing beside someone underwater.

Prayer

God of the Deep, When the sea rises and my foundations tremble, teach me not to flee, but to trust. Help me to breathe in the depths of Your grace, to surrender what I thought was safe, and to discover the beauty of transformation. Let my life become a coral castle— a place shaped by Your Spirit, alive with Your mercy, and open to the mystery of Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen