"When the Depths Call: Trusting the Hands That Hold You"
By Kateb Nuri-Alim Shunnar
There are moments in life when we feel as if we are sinking moments when everything around us feels unbearably heavy, dragging us down deeper into the darkness of our own thoughts, doubts, and fears. We reach for help, for some kind of reprieve, but instead, we feel the cold water rising around us, inch by inch, threatening to take us under. It’s in these moments that life demands something from us something deeper than mere survival, something more than just staying afloat.
Have you ever asked yourself why it is that, no matter how hard you try to escape it, you’re always pulled back to the same struggles? Why it feels like every attempt you make to rise above your depression, anxiety, or anger leaves you feeling like you’ve only sunk deeper? It’s as though you are a prisoner to the very waters that surround you, unable to break free from the weight of your own existence. And yet, just like the whale that navigates the vast ocean, we, too, have the ability to stay afloat. But the answer lies not in our strength but in our surrender.
Take a moment. Think back on the hardest seasons of your life the times you’ve felt the most broken, the most alone, the most abandoned. Maybe it was the death of a loved one, the collapse of a relationship, or a betrayal that cut you so deep you weren’t sure you’d ever recover. Maybe it’s the persistent ache of anxiety that gnaws at you day in and day out, or the overwhelming weight of stress that presses on your chest like a thousand-pound anchor. Whatever it is, you’ve felt the pull of those depths.
We’ve all been there. And if you’re reading this now, I need you to ask yourself: What kept you from sinking completely?
It wasn’t just your willpower. It wasn’t just sheer luck. In fact, if we’re honest with ourselves, most of the time, our own efforts are nowhere near enough to save us from the tidal waves that life throws at us. No, the thing that kept you from going under was something far greater than yourself. It was the hand of the Creator, holding you up when you couldn’t even lift your own head above the water.
And yet, even knowing this, we still fight. We still resist. We still think that if we just try a little harder, work a little longer, or push ourselves just a bit more, we’ll make it on our own. But that’s not how it works. The truth is, life will continue to throw us into the depths until we learn that it’s not our job to fight the current. Our job is to trust the hands that hold us.
Think of the whale again. This massive, awe-inspiring creature floats effortlessly, despite its size, despite the force of the ocean. It doesn’t fight the water; it moves with it. The whale trusts that the ocean will hold it. Do you trust that the Creator will hold you?
That’s the real question, isn’t it? Do you trust enough to let go of the struggle? Do you trust enough to stop fighting the waves that threaten to pull you down? Or are you still gripping onto the illusion of control, believing that somehow, on your own, you can outswim the storm?
Look back on your life. Think of all the times you’ve tried to carry your burdens alone. Think of the sleepless nights, the tears you’ve cried in silence, the moments of sheer exhaustion when you wondered if you could even make it through another day. And then, ask yourself this: What would it have felt like to let go in those moments? What would it have felt like to trust that the same Creator who has held you through every storm of your life was still holding you, even then?
We often think that surrender means defeat, but the truth is, surrender is the very thing that leads to victory. When we let go when we allow the Creator to carry our burdens instead of trying to carry them ourselves that’s when we begin to float. That’s when we begin to rise above the depths, not because we’re stronger or better or more capable, but because we’ve finally allowed ourselves to be held.
Let’s be real for a moment. You’re tired, aren’t you? You’re tired of pretending that everything’s okay when it’s not. You’re tired of holding it all together when inside, you feel like you’re falling apart. You’re tired of the endless battle in your mind, the constant fight against your own thoughts, emotions, and fears. It’s exhausting. And the worst part is, you feel like you’re fighting alone.
But here’s the truth you need to hear: You were never meant to fight alone. The Creator didn’t design you to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You were designed to be held, to be supported, to be lifted up by divine hands that never tire, never falter, and never let go.
So why do we resist this? Why do we cling so desperately to our pain, to our hurt, to our fears, when all the Creator is asking of us is to let them go? Maybe it’s because, deep down, we’re afraid. Afraid that if we truly let go, we’ll sink. Afraid that if we stop fighting, we’ll drown in the very waters we’ve been trying to stay above. But that’s just another illusion. The truth is, when we let go, we don’t sink. We rise.
I know this because I’ve been there. I’ve stood at the edge of the ocean, staring into the depths, wondering if I could survive another day of struggle. I’ve felt the pull of depression, the crushing weight of anxiety, the suffocating grip of fear. And in those moments, I learned something that changed everything: the Creator’s hands are always beneath us, waiting to lift us up. But we have to be willing to let go of the shore.
We can’t control the ocean. We can’t stop the waves. But we can trust the One who made them. We can trust that, even when we’re in the deepest, darkest waters, we are never alone. The Creator is there, holding us, lifting us, keeping us afloat.
And so, I ask you again: Are you willing to let go?
Are you willing to trust that you don’t have to carry the weight of your pain, your fear, your struggles alone? Are you willing to believe that the same hands that shaped the universe are strong enough to hold you through whatever storm you’re facing?
Because here’s the truth: when you finally let go, you’ll find that you don’t sink. You rise. You float above the depths, not because of your own strength, but because you’ve surrendered to the strength of the Creator. You’ll realize that you were never meant to carry the weight of your struggles alone. You were always meant to be held.
So if you find yourself in the depths today, if you’re feeling the weight of depression or the pull of anxiety, know this: you are not alone, and you are not without hope. You are being held, even now. And when you finally let go, you’ll discover that the very thing you’ve been fighting against was the very thing that was keeping you afloat all along.
Let go. Trust the hands that hold you. And watch as you rise above the depths, carried by a love that will never let you drown.
The whale, with all its colossal size, navigates the ocean's depths with grace and ease. Despite its weight, it doesn’t sink but instead glides effortlessly through the water. This remarkable balance isn’t a miracle; it’s a perfect harmony between the whale’s density and the water that surrounds it. But what does this have to do with us, with the human experience? In many ways, we are like these majestic creatures, burdened by the enormity of life’s pressures stress, depression, anxiety, anger, hurt. Yet, just as the whale remains afloat, we too have the ability to rise above the waves that threaten to drown us. Life, at times, feels like an endless ocean, one that overwhelms us with currents of uncertainty, heartbreak, and suffering. We often feel as though we are sinking, pulled down by the weight of the world on our shoulders. But, much like the whale, our true survival lies not in resisting these waters, but in finding balance and trusting that we can float.
In our lowest moments, it’s easy to feel as though we are being submerged, unable to breathe, surrounded by the dark depths of depression or consumed by the tempest of anxiety. But here is the truth: our spirits are designed to float, to rise, even when we are engulfed by life’s storms. The secret to this buoyancy lies in our connection to the Creator the hands of the universe that cradle us, even when the waters around us seem to be rising.
We all carry wounds from life—whether it’s the deep scars of emotional pain, the ever-present pressure of stress, or the burning flames of anger that refuse to subside. These experiences shape us, but they don’t have to define us. What keeps us afloat in these moments is not our own strength alone, but the relationship we cultivate with the divine. Like the whale, we are designed to coexist with the waters of life, but it is the Creator’s grace that allows us to remain above it, to swim rather than sink.
There is an incredible metaphor in the way whales navigate their environment. Their massive bodies are kept buoyant by a unique feature blubber. This layer is not just fat; it is their protection, their warmth, their lifeline. In the same way, our connection to the Creator becomes our blubber. It shields us, keeps us warm when the world grows cold, and allows us to remain afloat when everything else is pulling us under. Faith, trust, and love for the Creator become our own spiritual insulation, allowing us to rise even when life feels like it’s crashing down around us.
The truth is, no one is immune to hardship. We all face moments where the waves of anxiety, depression, and hurt threaten to overwhelm us. But I’ve learned through my own struggles that it is precisely in these moments of vulnerability where the opportunity to rise begins. It’s in the darkest depths that we realize we were never meant to do this alone. We were never meant to bear the weight of the ocean by ourselves. There is a higher hand waiting to lift us, a divine force ready to carry us if we only allow ourselves to float in trust and faith.
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