Fight or Float: When Life Pulls You Deeper Than You Planned

You've heard it before, “God won’t put more on you than you can bear.”

Cute. Encouraging. Pinterest-worthy.

But when you’re neck-deep in the waves of life—treading water, lungs burning, hope slipping like sand through your fingers—that cute little faith mantra feels less like comfort, and more like salt in the wound. Oh and, it's just not true.

Sometimes life does pull you deeper than you planned. Deeper into grief than you prayed for. Deeper into stretching seasons, silent waits, and surrender-heavy spaces. It can even feel like God’s invitation out of the boat, is actually a detour to drown. But if we— I mean Peter— would just keep his eyes where the help is actually coming from, he'd stay afloat... maybe even walk on water. Us too.

Here's the Truth we hold onto like our life depends on it; and it does:

God doesn’t call us out to drown—He calls us out to develop.

Fight or Float?

When the waves rise, our instincts do too. We fight. We strive. We control. But those deep places? They don’t respond to flailing. They respond to faith. Peter didn’t sink because the water got rough—he sank when his focus shifted. (Matthew 14:30)

Sometimes the choice isn’t between sink or swim: It’s fight or float.

Of course we'll face more than we can bare on our own. If we could bare it all, where then would the need be for a Savior. Will you let God carry you—hold you up when you don’t feel strong? Or will you wear yourself out trying to manage it all, prove something, or keep the image intact?

Deeper Isn’t a Detour—It’s a Divine Setup

You wanted breakthrough. You wanted clarity. You wanted purpose. But God knew you’d need depth first.

The kind of depth that teaches you to trust even when it doesn’t make sense. The kind of depth that drowns your need to be in control and surfaces a stronger, softer, more surrendered version of you.

Beloved, hear this: God’s not trying to wreck you—He’s trying to ready you. Ready you for the calling. Ready you for the platform. Ready you for the deep-end destiny you prayed for when you thought you were asking for something simple.

Now Say It With Me Aloud:

“I may feel in over my head, but I am not alone. I float on grace. I breathe by faith. And I rise—not because I’m strong, but because the One who holds my future, is.”

You can stop fighting the water now, and start flowing with the One who walks on it. It’s deeper than you thought—but it’s better than you imagined.

Want to clear that doubt with a journal prompt that will set you deep in the purpose God is calling you to?

Download this 3-page Excerpt from the Sorry Not Sorry "Deep Waters Journal Prompts" workbook. (Full workbook is available exclusively with the Sorry Not Sorry workshop & coursework)