Tag Archives: Learning

I Understand

I understand your frustration.  I understand the questions you have – wondering if this is all there is to Church life.  I know the confusion you’ve felt, wondering if what you’re experiencing is the fullness of the life Jesus talked about.  I understand that you would feel deeply hurt if what you’ve experienced is all that is available.  Disappointed at feeling as though you’ve been misled.  Even angry, that someone had tapped into the deepest parts of you only to then leave you with a list of behaviours to mimic, meetings to attend and rules to follow.  I understand. I’ve been there myself.  I’ve felt this way too.

There really is more to this whole Christianity thing.  There really is more to what Church should be.  More to who God is.  More to who you are.

I don’t have it all figured out yet.  I’m still learning.  But what I have discovered is so much better than I imagined possible.  The things I’m learning are incredible, liberating, life-giving.  They are so wonderful I often stop and wonder why I didn’t see them before.  Why didn’t anyone tell me?  How have so many of us missed these things?

I understand if you are sceptical.  I know how deeply you’ve been hurt, disillusioned, disappointed.  I realise that by raising these ideas I’m opening up wounds that you felt had healed over.  But I’m asking you to try trusting me.  That little tug you feel in your heart; I encourage you to allow yourself to follow it.  Come with me, let’s explore together.  Let’s discover what God has in store for those who believe.

Journey To the Top of the Mountain

Have you ever noticed that when you go on a journey, you rarely travel directly from the starting place to the destination?  Roads aren’t made to go straight from town to town.  Walking up a mountain you usually walk a path that weaves back and forth as it climbs.   Even when traveling by airplane, the pilot will fly along a determined flight-path.

When selecting the photo for this site I knew as soon as I saw the photo in the banner it was the one I wanted.  As an illustration, allow me to use the top of the highest point of the mountain as my destination.   But, if I’m following the road to get to that mountain top, the road will take me away from the peak in order to bring me toward it.

That’s the way life sometimes works.  The journey is not always a straight shot to the destination.  In the process of getting to where we want to go it’s normal for us to travel what seems like an alternative route in order to get there.

Our spiritual development is no different.  I don’t want to sound overly simplistic, but it’s easier to accept this principle when we’re in times of positivity.  But when we’re struggling with confusion, frustration or pain – especially when it feels as though we keep coming back to the same points of pain – we don’t really like to hear that we’re on a journey toward maturity.

I’ve spent a lot of years in the progress of process.  Over the years, there were times I was convinced I was about to exit the process and arrive at the destination, yet it continued to elude me.  There were also times during which I felt if there was one more challenge or delay I would crack under the weight of it all, but that didn’t happen either.

I have learned many lessons but there are two that stand out above them all.

1. God is always good. I feel a bit strange putting that down as a lesson because I don’t recall ever doubting this or feeling like he wasn’t being good. But, the lesson I’ve learned is how important it has been for me to acknowledge his goodness even in the most difficult and challenging times.

My relationship with him has grown to new depths through my learning how to worship and honour him as my Good Father in the midst of telling him how painful and confusing things have been.  There were many times I would ask him to intervene and change my circumstances but, through his grace, I was also able to state my willingness to remain in that place if he had more for me to learn.  As those months turned into seasons I grew in deeper love for him and his goodness.

2. The process helped me gain clarity on my goals. A number of years ago I came across Jeremiah 32.39 and asked God to help me become a man of singleness of heart and action so that I would always serve him. Little did I expect the difficulties I would face that would help me refine the affections of my heart.

Back in 1992 God spoke to me very clearly, giving me a vision for life and ministry.  I have held onto those promises and have attempted to live them out as well as I could given the circumstances in which I found myself. The challenges I’ve faced have helped develop perseverance and resilience, bringing a clarity and assurance of who I am and what I want to do.

Now it feels as though I’m coming into the clearing and able to see the top of the mountain.  Maybe I’m experiencing an unwarranted feeling of positivity and the path will, once again, wind back through thickets. Either way, I’ll have a chance to go deeper in my love for God and continue becoming who he intended me to be.

God Loves to Hide Stuff

I had been a Christian for a long time before I discovered how much of an adventure it could be to have a life with God.  When I first became a believer I was full of excitement and wonder at God, his love for people and the depth of meaning I was finding in so many things.  I spent hours devouring the Bible and lapping up the truths and principles I discovered within it.

Over time much of that excitement waned.  I didn’t grow cold, hard or disinterested (at least I don’t think so); but I lost much of the sense of wonder at God’s word.  I had gone to seminary to study the Bible.  I learned some Greek and a bit of Hebrew so I could understand the rich heritage and context behind the original texts.  But somehow in that process I lost the thrill of discovering what God has for me.

Then, I came across a verse that opened a whole new understanding of how God operates.  Yes, operates.  Not just how he speaks to us, but how he relates to us, how he reveals things to us, how he leads us.  Proverbs 25.2 states, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search out a matter”.   When I read this I stopped in my tracks.  I felt as if I’d just opened my eyes and was seeing, for the first time, what had always been right in front of me.

God hides stuff.  I understood that Jesus spoke in parables – he had a purpose for not disclosing everything to everyone all at once.  He wanted the hungry to come looking for the deeper meaning behind what he taught.  I got that.  But, for some reason, I didn’t transfer that understanding to God.  I just didn’t expect that God would ‘hide’ things.  After all, he is within me and through his Spirit he is revealing himself to me.  But this verse challenged a lot of my assumptions.

God likes to hide stuff.  But he doesn’t hide things from us, he hides things for us to find.  When I was a kid my mother, when giving us a special gift at Christmas or birthdays, would create a treasure hunt to add a bit more excitement into her giving us the gift.  I still remember going from room to room figuring out the clues she’d left until I finally found the console stereo turn-table at Christmas of 1980 (I know, showing my age again).

So, why is it so hard to accept that God would hide good things for us to find and discover?  Searching for the hidden treasures of his kingdom demonstrates that I’m hungry, that I’m expectant, that I have a hope and a faith that there is more available than I am currently experiencing.  Searching for what he’s hidden displays a trust that he has placed things within my reach and he is leading me toward himself as the ultimate treasure.  After all, he is the rewarder of those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

It is the glory of God to conceal but it is the glory of kings to search it out.

Proving the Kingdom

When King Saul wanted young David to wear his armour before going out to confront Goliath, David responded:   “No, I cannot wear this. I have not proved it.”

David did not want to wear the armour because he didn’t have any experience in wearing or using such equipment. He was not used to it. He had not tested it. He had not proven its effectiveness.

As we use something and experience it’s effectiveness we can stand over it; vouch for its value; be confident in its functionality; prove its worth.

 

The biblical language is similar to what Paul used in Romans 12.2.

“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve the will God…” (NIV)

God has an expectation that, as our minds are renewed, we will learn his will to the extent that we can recognise it, test it, stand over it and approve it.

While it is good to hear teaching and grow familiar with biblical doctrine; have I ‘proven’ it for myself?

While it is helpful to be around others and learn from their ministry experiences; have I ‘proven’ it for myself?

This implies that life will provide opportunities to experience the benefits of God’s will as we make decisions through daily living. In applying God’s Word to every-day circumstances, we learn to ‘prove’ the truth of his Word and experience the benefits of recognising his good, pleasing and perfect will.