Run Silent, Run Deep

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intage World War II movies and documentaries never go out of style.  As a young boy, I loved watching these movies and listening to my grandfather and other men who actually lived the various battles and circumstances portrayed in the movies.  I will never forget these conversations and the feeling I had as I listened to true accounts by people who had actually been there.

Most of the movies and documentaries recounting great naval battles always include footage or references to the role of the submarine. The ability to approach by stealth and attack while submerged and undetectable to an enemy drastically altered the way naval fleets engaged their enemies on the open seas.  However, the submarine was not without its limitations. 

I remember watching several movies where ships on the surface unloaded depth charges, in an attempt to force submarines to the surface or to utterly destroy them below the waves.  The charges could be set to explode at differing depths, making it very difficult for a submarine to make a fast getaway by diving to deeper water. 

As the ship’s captain continued his relentless pursuit of the sub by continually firing depth charges overboard, the submarine captain would order his crew to dive to deeper water.  In very dire circumstances, the sub commander would give the order, “Run silent, run deep.”  This meant that the engines were to be disengaged and the sub was to float freely and no one was to make a sound for fear of divulging the submarine’s location. However, one thing was clear, the deeper the submarine’s dive, the safer it was from enemy attack.

Life can be viewed in these terms, especially from a Christian perspective. The scriptures tell us plainly that we have an enemy and that he is in constant pursuit and on constant patrol.  He has only one goal in mind, to sink us, dead in the water.  The sea of life is full of his ships, loaded with depth charges, always at the ready, always willing to launch just when we least expect it. His salvos are dangerous and his attack is relentless.

Often times, his charges start off in shallow water.  They come in the form of daily frustrations, minor disappointments, and small obstacles blocking our paths.  When we encounter these difficulties, as Christians, we immediately head for deeper water.  The depth charges drive us deeper into God’s word and into a deeper relationship with Him.  That’s when the enemy really cranks up the charges.  They hit us deeper and are more powerful than we know.  Sometimes the death of a loved one is such a charge or the heartache of a broken friendship or relationship.  At other times emotional pain rocks our vessel and we feel as if the hull will collapse and the ship will sink.

At such a time we follow the sub captain’s advice and we choose to run silent and run deep.  We believe that if we make no noise, if we stop all forward movement, and if we come to a full stop, then the attack will cease.  This is especially true during times of greatest testing.  We choose to run silent when the pain runs deep, believing that it will pass when the enemy tires of the pursuit. Our enemy, however, will not tire and if we stop our forward progress we become sitting ducks, dead in the water, and easy prey!

King David was fully aware of the difficulties of life.  He was pursued by his best friend’s father and by his own children.  He was hunted, rejected, insulted, betrayed, and hated.  There were moments, I believe, in David’s life when he felt the shockwaves from the enemy’s depth charges as they fell all around him.  Yet David’s command would not be like our submarine’s captain.  Instead, they would be just a little different.

In Psalm 130:1, David gives us the proper order for addressing the enemy’s onslaught.  Here, he writes, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.”  Notice that David mixes the commands, encouraging us to run deep but not to remain silent.  He cries to the Lord from the depths of his trials and disappointments.  The enemy’s salvos have driven him deep and from this depth David calls out to God.  He calls out because he knows God will answer him.  David is on intimate terms with the One who leads His own “through the depths” (Isaiah 63:13).

 His advice is well taken.  When the trials, heartaches, and disappointments of life surround us, we must go deeper into God, calling out to Him from the depths and He will hear us. Although the charges run deep, and although they buffet us at every turn, we have God’s promise that they will never destroy us.  We are safe in the depths with Him because wherever we go, there He is. 

Whatever your situation today, it is my prayer that you will know and experience God’s presence in conflict.  Go deeper into Him; dive as quickly as you can to the safety of the depths of His love for you.  When the enemy is all around and your urge is to flee, remember David’s advice:  Run praying and run deep!