Category Archives: SPIRITUAL INTEREST

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God Doesn’t Do It Our Way

The Spiritual Journey is Not What You Think

Life has many markers, decision points, and some of them are spiritual. Either they are markers that record your journey towards God or they mark your distancing away from God. You come to a “Y” in the road and a decision will be made. God is always calling you, but you can turn your back to him. You will make a choice. One cannot go back via the way you came. You may stall–camp there and consider your options–and then make a choice.

Each choice will instruct your future and determine your path. Many voices compete for your attention–some good, some bad, some self-centered, some indifferent, and some spiritual. You know, it’s true. It pays to be wise. By now you’ve probably made some good choices and a few bad ones. Haven’t we all? Some are embarrassing to think about. You wish you hadn’t gone there, done that.

Beware of what side-steps you away from God’s will for you. You can really try hard to do everything right in your own best interest without including any thoughts of God and, consequently, repress the spiritual side of you until God’s voice is almost silenced. Why not do the opposite? I encourage you to listen for the still, small voice of God. Do you hear him? He is there when you consciously look for him, if you’re intent on seeing him. God works in each person’s life in a unique way according to who you are and how you think. I do know he hears the cry of your heart, even when you don’t know you have a “cry” in your heart that needs to be met.

You need God in your life. Seriously, you do. More than because he forgives your sins, more than because he gives meaning to life, and more than because of his helpfulness and care. Everyone needs God. God is your anchor in stormy seas. God is the great controller of all things. God is the most sensible of all in this crazed, upside-down world. He is a stabilizing force we can count on.

God REALLY is an anchor in the turbulent sea of life. But it is up to us to access him as our mainstay. Some miss this. For example, some make radically wrong choices. Suicide is one of them. In 2017 my son got out of the military. He returned to civilian life and is now established in a job. In the short time since, three from his command have taken their own lives. Heartbreaking.

What gives? That is a hard one to answer. There are clues, but they don’t tell the whole story. They needed help, hope, a reason to live. Life was too much and too hard. I hope they knew Jesus. Belief in God is the best reason for living. Spiritual belief is not dependent on circumstances, people, money, health, success, good looks, relational health, achievement or popularity.

God is always there for you. Truly, it doesn’t matter whether you’re on top of the world or down in the dumps, he is there. Respect him. Learn his ways. Don’t try to manipulate God by praying your will instead of God’s will.

I want to share with you four distinct spiritual markers.  Each of these helped me become “anchored” in God and came about as the result of things in life. My spiritual life began when I asked Jesus into my heart as a child. The evening news was scary after the Bay of Pigs invasion. Mother shared that Jesus would take care of us. I’m sure the Spirit of the living God was drawing me as I came to my first Y in the road.

My Most Important “Y” Markers

  1. Salvation. I realized my need of a Savior. I believed in Christ as my Savior and accepted his gift of salvation for my soul. My mother guided this process by explaining how Jesus loved me, died on the cross, rose again, and lives. My brother and I both prayed by the side of the bed that night. I was seven.
  2. Dedication. I gave my life to God when I was sixteen. The Spirit of God flooded my spirit. I was emotional as I drew near to God. I decided to follow him and never looked back.
  3. Surrender. We sing “All to Jesus, I surrender, all to him I freely give.” That’s exactly what happened to me when I quit trying so hard. I was at a crossroads and knew I couldn’t go on as I was–on empty, depleted.  I gave it up and turned to God with my heart, mind, and soul.  Best decision I ever made!
  4. Consecration. My life now is one of consecration to God. I desire to honor God with my life. This is an on-going process, one of sanctification. I allow God to “Mold me and make me, after thy will,” like the potter with the clay, where God molds his children into the shape he wants them to be.

An awakening process of renewal and transformation comes with this pursuit. This initiates healing and freeing. For me, this relaxes my rigidity and opens me in the Lord’s service as a vessel that pours out from its inner abundance.

You and I are either drawing closer to God or slipping further away from him. God promises that if you seek him you will find him, period, in spite of the struggles in life–your relationship issues, financial woes, health crises, loss and heartaches. These will bombard you and make you want to quit.

You also may not believe a word I’ve written, but that’s okay.

It is choice time, again. You’re at another Y. Why not turn to God, he loves you so very much. He is the giver of hope and a future.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. –Jeremiah 29:11

God can be your dearest friend. He makes life worth living, and he also makes it beautiful. Don’t regret the hard times. Let them go or give them to God. Trust God and find him as your “enough.” “God, I need you. I want to know you. Please help me. Show me who you are.” I believe God will do that for you.

I would be remiss to not say a word to whoever doesn’t believe God exists. Give him a chance. Allow yourself to be vulnerable by asking God to reveal himself to you. Then wait expectantly. The wait may be hours, days, or months. I am positive he will answer your request if you are willing to reach out to him and are sincere in heart. God is a gentleman and will not force his way into your life. I caution you. No dares and no games. They dishonor and displease God. He is holy.

And to anyone who is mad at God. You got upset with God when he let you down or didn’t do what you wanted him to do … when you wanted him to do it. Maybe you were mistreated and it seems unfair of God to have allowed it. In all honesty I say this to you, you have to let it go because it is wrong-minded. God is not a dispenser that gives you everything you want, pray, and ask for. It simply doesn’t work that way.

Another Y in the road. Now you have a choice to make. Instead of being angry with God, you are given an opportunity to turn to him. He takes it from there.

God does it his way. You will receive when you turn to him and believe on him. Then things start happening. God feeds your soul, gives you peace, helps you discern, guides your thoughts, mends your brokenness, and changes your life for the better good. It all takes time, of course.

When you are in-tune with God, the more you are able to accept and become okay with the way life plays out. You are not living in your own strength. God is with you, sustaining and keeping you. This becomes possible when God is part of your life in an active way.

Try it, you’ll like it!

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The more we are in-tune with God the more we are able to accept and become okay with the way life plays out.
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Next Week:  What you can do when you’re worried about your unbelieving Millennial.

Stay tuned!

 

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The Day I Met Wm. Paul Young

I first became aware of The Shack by the buzz it was creating in my church. The same people who are first to read what’s new, like The Prayer of Jabez a few years earlier, The Purpose Driven Life, Jesus Calling and so forth, were talking about it. Some were telling others to not read it because of the imagery. Call me curious, I waited until it showed up at Costco, then I purchased a copy. I wasn’t too far into it when I realized two things: Some people were not going to like it with a passion, and others, like me, were going to be touched by its understanding of damaged emotions in people who were wounded by  “spiritual” people, or wounded by loss, disappointment with God, and were, consequently, angry with God or resentful.

Like I always do, I researched the author. I read his quotes, his beliefs, his history, his foraging into new territory and leaving the past behind for life-altering, life-giving opportunities. He’d walked the uneven journey, and it wasn’t all pretty. Learning his personal history made the book make all the more sense to me. I knew I would jump at the chance if ever given the opportunity to meet Wm. Paul Young, author of The Shack.

Like my first impression, the reality is that controversy swirls around W. P. Young and his writings. I “got” his message and wished more in the faith community would stop trying to make the book into something it isn’t and accept it as a loving gift to people who will benefit from it. This sensitivity of mine to these very same issues contributed to my intrigue with a writer who wasn’t afraid to put it out there anyways. We part company in some of our conclusions about the spiritual, but we share the same lens about other matters of great importance, like compassion and God’s love.

Unconventional Christians, those who march to their own drummer–and there have been many–fascinate me. Maybe because I are one. I have written a review for Young’s Cross Roads book here and quote from the book here. I wanted to meet him for several reasons.

  • We are the same age (!).
  • He is brave, courageous, willing to write what’s in his heart.
  • He is an overcomer with the scars to prove it.
  • We both love Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • He thinks for himself.
  • He cares about the hurting person.
  • He is a top-notch storyteller.

Those who know me well know that I have some of these same qualities. It is my belief that The Shack is one of those books that God propelled forward because of its message of hope, healing, and love. In the way Young weaved the story, I sensed God using its words to reach down to the wounded person–lost and alone, without hope and understanding–as a touchstone to meet and speak truth in love. It shows how God’s life connects with human life as an antidote to pain and suffering. A person who’s been there, been wounded deeply, is more likely to understand the message he imparts. Through his message, Young exposes the tangled thinking that comes with the pain of what seems, or is, unjust and a person’s bent toward self-justifying and self-focus.

The Jesus Center in Chico, California, invited Wm. Paul Young as its luncheon fundraiser speaker. As a supporter, I was emailed months before the event. I began to pray that I would get to have a few words with W. P. Young at the event and without interruption. What’s the chance of that? He spoke before the meal was served. He made a few jokes and then moved on into the subject of love and shared how The Shack has reached the incarcerated and has ministered to their spiritual needs, and helped them take personal inventory (like we all need to do).. “Papa,” Father God, often comes up. “Does Papa really love me?” he is asked. “Yes, he does love you,” he responds along with a hug — as tears flow — and another heart mends as love is received.

My favorite moment of the talk was when he said the following. He is asked, “If he could go back and do it over again, would he?” “Yes,” he says, “I would. I would undo all the hurt I’ve caused.” It was a statement about himself and the pain he had caused; it was not about others or the pain they had caused him. He said it softly, consideringly, truthfully. I will remember it because of its depth of meaning to me in my spiritual walk.

Afterwards, a line formed of people wanting to have their books signed by him. I hadn’t thought to bring one of my books but thought to myself, it’s now or never. Finally, it was my turn. So I said, “No book!” as I approached him, and he grinned. I shared my appreciation of him, his ministry and message, and then told him I had viewed a discussion between him and Richard Rohr. Briefly we spoke about it, and he told me they did a series together about the Trinity.

Young’s eyes were kind, bright, intelligent, happy, and sincere. I could have talked with him for hours because he appears to speak without pretense. I sensed he would understand some of my journey, which cares more about what God thinks than people’s opinions. Just saying.

I wanted to ask W. P. Young a couple questions about how he came to be his own person, how he came to see God as a loving God, how he found his own voice, but that didn’t happen. I had no opportunity. I am on a similar journey and thought he could shed light on some of it. He is routinely criticized and I, too, was criticized by some for attending this event. I think he accepts it as part of being faithful to his calling. In Wm. Paul Young I see a person who loves God and is willing to take the heat for love of others.

I am glad I got to meet Wm. Paul Young. Maybe at a later date I will get to have that conversation. I know we won’t agree on everything or have a seamless theology, but we will agree on the message of what it is all about, the love of God for all the people of the world, grace, and freedom. I am glad he is sharing hope with a world that has so little of it.

Next Post will be about a new devotional for the whole family written by a first time author.