Defining my Experience
Where is God calling me? How do I get there? When will I get there? These are the questions on my mind often. I think these are the questions before God's people since the great fall in the garden, when man no longer dwelt in the physical presence of God. How I respond to these questions will define my experience of God, and His experience of my faith.
If God is my source and reward, nothing on earth can touch my expression of faith. If I try to make someone or something other than God my source, or let my reward be defined as something other than a deeper experience of God, then I will make a mess simply attempting to walk in the direction God has called me. This was Abraham's story in many ways. When God called Abram to pack up everything and move, he did:
Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
This is faith at its finest. 75 years old, established where he lived, the terrain he knew...God gives him a direction and a promise, and Abram says "yes" and starts walking. This kind of faith pleases God:
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
When Abram was simply seeking to hear and obey God step by step, God was pleased. In these moments, Abram made God the source of his direction, and the reward for the journey...but, as the journey went on, Abram also made some mistakes along the way. Whenever He tried to operate in his own wisdom (be the source), or take matters into his own hands, he made an incredible mess: giving up his wife to a king out of fear of death, having a baby with the wrong girl out of impatience, treating that girl quite poorly in an attempt to clean up the mess he had made. Abraham made a lot of mistakes attempting to fulfill the promise of God...the call of God...on his life. Impatience and striving in earthly "wisdom" (usually a response to fear of missing the promise) were faith killers in Abraham's life, and can be in my life.
God's call in the beginning of Abraham's story was a prophetic one. Prophecy is generally a dramatic word for "an invitation from God to go on a journey with God." You might not call it prophecy, but everyone in a relationship with God should be in a conversation with Him about what He desires for them. When God reveals something to us about where He desires to take us or have us do, it is easy to hear His call to take a step in that new direction, and instead start running...attempting to make the promise happen. This is always disastrous, because it misses the entire point of the invitation. God desires the journey with me. He faithfully rewards everyone who says yes to the journey. Man tends to want to make the end of the journey the reward, rather than the deeper experience of God.
About 5 years ago I went backpacking on Isle Royale. Because it is remote, a trip to Isle Royale takes some advanced planning. As the details of the trip were worked out, an excitement about what I would see and experience there started to build. I really enjoyed the months leading up to the trip. I had done a fair amount of backpacking around the midwest, and could not wait to see the more rugged terrain of Isle Royale.
When I arrived at Isle Royale, I realized a couple of things: 1. It was as beautiful as I imagined. 2. The hiking was way more rugged than I imagined.
The path my friend and I had laid out in my living room was designed to see the best spots, which meant great views from the trail and camping destinations that were different each night. This all added up to lots of elevation changes on very rocky trails.
At one point mid-trip, as we were ascending yet another brutally long climb back over the main ridge line, I was staring at my feet as we trudged step by step with heavy packs on our backs. My mood was not super. It was hot, and the climb was long and tiring. About halfway up the hour long climb, I realized my neck was hurting from staring at the trail right in front of my feet. I hadn't looked up in at least 20 minutes, focusing on the climb...annoyed with the struggle. I heard God say right into my heart "look up and see what you are missing!". I looked up from the trail and saw the beautiful north end of this remote northern paradise. This day's climb was the hardest of the trip, but it had taken us to a height that gave one of the best views of the Island. Then God said to me something I will never forget: "the hiking is why you came here. If you don't enjoy this, you really are going to miss everything I want to show you."
God's plans for me, the whole point of the journey, are to show me what He has done, what He is doing, and what He can do. He reveals these things mostly in the journey itself, not in the destination. Reaching the destination is always rewarding, but the time and experience with God is the real reward, not the destination. If I will trust Him to be the source and the reward, I can lift my head and enjoy the experience of the journey. If I give in to the temptation to strive to establish myself, struggling to make my way...to make the promise happen, rather than let God simply keep the promise implied in the invitation, I will miss the whole point of the invitation in the first place!
Psalm 18:31 For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.34 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. 36 You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.
If God is my source and reward, nothing on earth can touch my expression of faith. If I try to make someone or something other than God my source, or let my reward be defined as something other than a deeper experience of God, then I will make a mess simply attempting to walk in the direction God has called me. This was Abraham's story in many ways. When God called Abram to pack up everything and move, he did:
Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
This is faith at its finest. 75 years old, established where he lived, the terrain he knew...God gives him a direction and a promise, and Abram says "yes" and starts walking. This kind of faith pleases God:
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
When Abram was simply seeking to hear and obey God step by step, God was pleased. In these moments, Abram made God the source of his direction, and the reward for the journey...but, as the journey went on, Abram also made some mistakes along the way. Whenever He tried to operate in his own wisdom (be the source), or take matters into his own hands, he made an incredible mess: giving up his wife to a king out of fear of death, having a baby with the wrong girl out of impatience, treating that girl quite poorly in an attempt to clean up the mess he had made. Abraham made a lot of mistakes attempting to fulfill the promise of God...the call of God...on his life. Impatience and striving in earthly "wisdom" (usually a response to fear of missing the promise) were faith killers in Abraham's life, and can be in my life.
God's call in the beginning of Abraham's story was a prophetic one. Prophecy is generally a dramatic word for "an invitation from God to go on a journey with God." You might not call it prophecy, but everyone in a relationship with God should be in a conversation with Him about what He desires for them. When God reveals something to us about where He desires to take us or have us do, it is easy to hear His call to take a step in that new direction, and instead start running...attempting to make the promise happen. This is always disastrous, because it misses the entire point of the invitation. God desires the journey with me. He faithfully rewards everyone who says yes to the journey. Man tends to want to make the end of the journey the reward, rather than the deeper experience of God.
About 5 years ago I went backpacking on Isle Royale. Because it is remote, a trip to Isle Royale takes some advanced planning. As the details of the trip were worked out, an excitement about what I would see and experience there started to build. I really enjoyed the months leading up to the trip. I had done a fair amount of backpacking around the midwest, and could not wait to see the more rugged terrain of Isle Royale.
When I arrived at Isle Royale, I realized a couple of things: 1. It was as beautiful as I imagined. 2. The hiking was way more rugged than I imagined.
The path my friend and I had laid out in my living room was designed to see the best spots, which meant great views from the trail and camping destinations that were different each night. This all added up to lots of elevation changes on very rocky trails.
At one point mid-trip, as we were ascending yet another brutally long climb back over the main ridge line, I was staring at my feet as we trudged step by step with heavy packs on our backs. My mood was not super. It was hot, and the climb was long and tiring. About halfway up the hour long climb, I realized my neck was hurting from staring at the trail right in front of my feet. I hadn't looked up in at least 20 minutes, focusing on the climb...annoyed with the struggle. I heard God say right into my heart "look up and see what you are missing!". I looked up from the trail and saw the beautiful north end of this remote northern paradise. This day's climb was the hardest of the trip, but it had taken us to a height that gave one of the best views of the Island. Then God said to me something I will never forget: "the hiking is why you came here. If you don't enjoy this, you really are going to miss everything I want to show you."
God's plans for me, the whole point of the journey, are to show me what He has done, what He is doing, and what He can do. He reveals these things mostly in the journey itself, not in the destination. Reaching the destination is always rewarding, but the time and experience with God is the real reward, not the destination. If I will trust Him to be the source and the reward, I can lift my head and enjoy the experience of the journey. If I give in to the temptation to strive to establish myself, struggling to make my way...to make the promise happen, rather than let God simply keep the promise implied in the invitation, I will miss the whole point of the invitation in the first place!
Psalm 18:31 For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.34 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. 36 You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.
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