It is easy to say we believe in God as long as we remain in the little world we choose to live in; but get out into the great world of facts, the noisy world where people are absolutely indifferent to you, where your message is nothing more than a crazy tale belonging to a bygone age, can you believe God there?
~Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
~ from Hebrews 11
Oh beloved, it is true. We have (really) but one choice. Many of the choices we think we have do not exist. And all the other ones we do have will be overwhelmed by destiny One Day. The problem is, that in the one choice that we can make, we lay down a bet much, much bigger than we could ever hope to cover on our own – regardless of how the bet plays out.
Will we believe? It is the only thing we can (or cannot) do.
Some of the choices we make to believe are big, and they can be framed and hung with quite a bit of clarity. We can look at the evidence in His Word and see our need to trust Him alone for our current and future salvation. And this first choice is crucial.
It gets bigger, and more personal though.
Coming to Him, through Him, is the gate to more opportunities to up the ante on our bet on Him. And He meets us in this place in more ways than we can even begin to imagine. We find that His Word is absolutely true and sufficient and living and active. It never changes and can never be beaten. It only grows.
Then He rips the blinders off our eyes, and tears the doors off the hinges of our understanding. We thought we got it. And we did. But just as a sapling is really a tree, it is still a shadow of what it could be when it takes root near good waters. He begins to actually do what He says He will do throughout His Word.
His Spirit speaks to us and tells us of things to come.
“Makala.” … And i find out my new name means set free.
“Go to Jamaica, Eternity is about to be different. His name is Michael.” … And an epic journey across the waters ends with a nun I do not know, waiting for me and sending me to share the gospel with a boy.
“I will surely do this. I will send a woman named princess into your life.” … And a few months later she reaches out to me across 15 time zones from a place I have never even imagined.
“I AM so proud of you son.” And months of weariness in ministry in Indonesia evaporated.
“Turn left.” … And our misdirected journey to a country north gets corrected. We end up where He told me I was going to end up 30 years ago.
“Watch for 112.” … This one was a week ago for me. He said it a few times. And exactly that number show up at an event (though the number of registered students was some 80+ more than 112) where i was the main speaker some days later.
There are more…. it is not fruitful to go on about dreams and angels and visions, but for the purpose of this entry. None of them would have happened, but for choice. One choice to be exact: this fool of a writer chose to believe the G_d still speaks to us.
Can we see it? There is a risk involved. And no, the risk is not that we cannot hear Him. The risk is that if we do listen, we are presented with another choice: Will we obey? And if we obey, we go further along a path of zero return. We leave the world behind, and begin to walk in His Spirit.
May i preach for a moment? There is nothing here for you. He is the only worthy goal. His path is the only one that leads to life. Would you cast yourself into His care tonight? Jesus is calling you.
So, what is He telling you? Will you believe? Will you obey? It is quite a ride. Tonight is your night beloved. Time to take your fingers out of your spiritual ears.
