“Our generation is preoccupied with methods.” Although Henry Blackaby wrote that in 1998, it still applies today – maybe even more so.
And I so appreciate systems and methods and ways of getting things done efficiently and effectively. As he went on to explain, when we find a program that works in one business, we immediately want to package and distribute it so that it will work for others. See – that just seems to make so much sense to me.
Until he went “personal” on me and started applying it to how much time and energy we spend looking for spiritual disciplines, books, seminars or conferences that “work” in order to feel satisfied with our Christian life. Ooops – that is bringing up a red flag for me – what’s wrong?
Blackaby brings the focus – God does not want us to trust in methods – He wants us to trust in Him! How many times have I taken the methods route looking for spiritual guidance and comfort? Far too often, I suspect.
Of course, I want to hear from Blackaby how I am trusting in methods rather than in the Person of Christ. Well, he hit my really vulnerable spot. He says we are limiting our experience of God when we expect God to speak to us only in predictable ways. We forget that God is much more complex than our perception of Him.
A trip down Bible memory lane can show us that – as Blackaby does. In times past –
–God spoke in dreams and visions
–used nature; miraculous signs; prophets
–a still small voice; fire; trumpets; fleece; the casting of lots
–angels
–speaking in the middle of the night, during worship services
–at mealtimes, during funerals
–while people were walking along the road
–through sermons, in the middle of a storm, and
–through His Son.
As Blackaby so ably does, he points out the important thing was not how God communicated, but just the fact that He is communicating is what is critical.
He warns us to not limit ourselves to a method and expect only to hear from God in predictable ways. Rather, we are to keep ourselves open to other means (less predictable sometimes) by which God wants to commune with us. Then we experience Him in an entirely new dimension as we are receptive to His voice.
Of course, God’s main message is as Peter puts it in 2 Peter 3:11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness.
Knowing that God is preparing judgment brings a sobering reality to Christians. As Blackaby says, it helps us recognize what is eternally significant and what is not. And I believe it makes us focus, especially in our later years, on how we should live out our lives and really puts us into a mode to communicate with God more potently and regularly.
Any of us could list out what Blackaby calls “temporal things” (hobbies, possessions, etc.) to which we invest much time or energy. But all it takes is a reminder through things like losing my brother, having a friend attacked by horrible cancer, seeing those younger than me experience serious strokes or physical issues to make me sensitive to the times in which I live.
We should walk so closely with God that we are able to, as Blackaby puts it, “invest our effort in building God’s eternal kingdom” with an “urgency about us to complete the tasks that God gives us.”
Yep, you know what I am going to ask you. Have you written your faith story – how your relationship with God came about and how it has impacted your life? (or recorded an audio or video of such?) What in your life is eternally significant (and maybe share what is not), but if you were sitting with your great-great-great grandchild, how would you communicate your faith story? What happened and how it impacted you and what your life wisdom for them would be?
Did the Lord communicate to you about this? Yes, He did! In Deuteronomy 6:20, Moses’ words right after the delivery of the Ten Commandments were that when “your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?’ tell him….” And he goes on to tell the story of God redemptively bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt bringing them to the promised land “so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.”
I reflect on my great-great grandfather who at age 19 joined the US Army to fight Indians and protect settlers moving west, who fought as a Confederate Calvary man in the Civil War spending the last year of the war as a prisoner of war in horrendous conditions, yet he made it home to his wife with whom he had 14 children, 10 living to adulthood. His obituary at age 89 recited that “in early manhood” he was converted, joined the church and served for many years as a minister. A farmer by occupation, “he found time to preach the Gospel, and in the pioneer days of this section went from place to place, preaching to the people. He was loved and honored by all who knew him and was a useful man to his community.”
Oh, how I yearn to have his description of how he came to the Lord, what impact it had on him, was it before the Civil War? Or after? And how would he describe his relationship with the Lord? And what would he share with us, those who came after him?
Don’t put it off – pick up a pen, pull up the computer or turn on the recorder. Doesn’t matter where you start, just let it be extemporaneous and real and let it roll (you can edit later). And when you have done that, let me know! I want to celebrate you! (And did you hear that? I think it might be God communicating with you and encouraging you!)
P.S. When my next Family History Bootcamp starts on June 23, I will show you how to preserve that communication for your descendants honoring God and delivering His message to those who will cherish it. (Yes, you can do this!)
