"Say something!!!"

I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently who is looking for answers to some situations in his life. He has been praying and seeking God and needs to get some sense of direction. Finally, in frustration he said to God, "Here I am needing to hear from you and you aren't saying anything!!!" In response, in a quiet place in his soul he heard the reply, "No, I'm not am I?"

God can be really frustrating at times. I've read the books and heard the sermons from people who seem to get daily, detailed instructions on what to do and where to go and who to talk to. I know people who must be God's favourites because he seems to communicate with them in ways the majority of us only dream about. I look at my life, my spiritual walk, my receptivity and wonder what's wrong with me? Why is God so quiet?

One of the confusing things about the people who hear from God all the time seems to be how often he changes his mind, or gets it wrong, or fails to mention the fine-print or repercussions of his instructions. I think the reality is that we all struggle to hear from God, and are thankful and vocal about when we do, and a little more quiet when we don't.

I've heard from God very clearly a number of times in my life. I heard from God today. I am facing some decisions and I opened my daily Bible reading and the passages I read spoke straight into my situation. Not in the, "Go and do this..." way but in a way that assured me God was aware of what was going on in my life and gave a hint of what I should be thinking as I make decisions.

I thought about what my friend said, about the times when God is intentionally silent, about the times when I've needed to hear from him and he hasn't said anything, and about the times when I know my Father has spoken to me. I thought about all the times I thought I'd heard from him and unless he's as confused and clueless as me, I didn't. I thought about the times when stunningly and unquestionably God has comforted, directed and vividly communicated with me.

I thought about all those things and I realised there was a pattern - the pattern was that there was no pattern!

You're probably reading this having had your daily conversation with God, having received clear instruction and guidance, and shaking your head at such a sorry and hopeless soul such as I am. Only, I've been around a while now and met lots of followers of Jesus along the way and had lots of conversations with them and I've discovered that you're probably not wondering what's wrong with me because your experience has been the same. You've experienced the same response my friend did. You've asked for answers or direction or just something to at least let you know he's listening and when you've accused him of keeping quiet he's merely affirmed that yes, he is.

One of the basic tenets of my faith, based on God's self-revelation in the Bible, is that he is interested, present and intimately involved in my life. It is seen most clearly in the incarnation when "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14). It makes sense, then, that there has been no pattern to when I have heard from God because my relationship with him isn't a formula, but just that, a relationship. There are times when I have heard from him through the Bible, times when I have heard quietly in prayer, times when he has spoken through other people, times when he has communicated with me through circumstances or through events in my life, and times when his silence has encouraged me to make the decision that seems most right and correct in my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.

The randomness of God's communication to me reminds me that he is present in the randomness of life. That his voice isn't reserved for a certain time or place or posture but is heard in the people, places, circumstances and experiences of life. That because he is immanent - intimately present, the God who is with us - he can be heard in many ways and in many places and even through my own thoughts and decisions.

I am glad I heard from God through the Bible this morning. In some sense I hear from him through his Word everyday, but there are times when the clarity is deeply appreciated.

And there are those other times, the normal times, when I want him to say something and he just smiles, and stays quiet, and I remember that maybe his voice is found in making the choices I hesitate to make, doing the things I don't want to do, following the path that stretches before me, or simply just doing what makes the most sense.

So those times when I want God to say something and he doesn't, it's good for me to remember that in so many ways, he already has...

Don't shove!!

A friend sent me an email the other day containing the old illustration about the mother eagle and her young. It's the observation that the chicks are comfortable in the nest and don't want to leave, but in order to fly and mature they have to, so the mother eagle nudges them out of the nest to force them to fly. The babies like their comfort and don't like change until they aren't given a choice. My friend (rightly) felt it was appropriate for the journey our faith community is on at the moment, having to embrace change in order to mature and grow. (I know, the picture is sheep not eagles, but I just liked it...)

That got me thinking about change. It occurred to me that I've always thought there were two types of people, those who resist change and those who embrace change. And that might be true, but I actually think that for the most part everyone resists change. I wonder how often the people who like change and are stimulated by it do so in order to avoid internal change and personal growth? I wonder if there are times when I have embraced external change because it is easier to change the external elements of my life that struggle through the growth or face the issues that I am dealing with?

Change is a necessary part of life. When we refuse to change we begin to stagnate and are choosing a smaller, safer self and way of living. Change isn't good or bad, change just is. When our circumstances change it often means we need to adapt and grow and adopt different ways of thinking or different ways of behaving. Change is uncomfortable and means disruption to the way we are used to being. Change means we have to...well...change...

My family has been living in our current home for just over five years. With one of our children already moved out and another possibly doing so next year we are looking at the concept of downsizing. After all, with just my wife and I and two of our kids (plus a little black dog) we wouldn't really need a five bedroom house plus study any more. But that means moving! All the trauma of packing and sorting and getting the house ready for sale and looking for somewhere else. The concept of such a change is uncomfortable! No matter how much sense it makes, it's the discomfort involved that discourages me.

That's the sort of change many of us can agree we prefer to avoid. And yet what about the internal changes that challenge us and we make external ones to avoid? What about the times we might change jobs to avoid having to change our attitudes or behaviour to deal with our new boss? What about when we are unwilling to grow and develop relationships so we find new friends, new partners, or even a new state or country? What about when we don't want to mature and engage in the slog of life and so we travel or constantly chase some unattainable dream? What about when God challenges us in our faith community and so we find another where we can avoid the necessity of change?

My observation is that most if not all of us avoid the discomfort of change, whether that change is the external aspects of life or the internal ones. But of course as I noted above - change is.

In a remarkable scripture we read, "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Gen. 8:22) That's change! God intends for change and mandates change, not just in the seasons of the earth but in people as well. We often talk about the transformation he is performing to conform his people to the image of his Son, Jesus, but all of life involves change for every place and every person. Of course not everybody chooses change, but at the very least, time and the seasons pass and despite the advances of medical science and cosmetic surgery ultimately we all change.

How have you changed? How are you a different person to who you were yesterday, or last month, or last year? What has happened in your external world that has brought the discomfort of change? What are the challenges to your internal world that is forcing you to think and question and grow?

Or are you resisting? Are you avoiding? Are you escaping to a place where you can remain comfortable?

Change is often difficult and sometimes even painful. But...CHANGE IS! We live in a society that sees many things change at a rapid and often terrifying pace. I think the issue we face isn't the rate of change in our world, but how we are developing and growing as people in the midst of challenges we face.

I don't know much about eagles, but I do know a little about me. I like to be comfortable, but God wants me to change because I'm a better person and better for him when I do. So he nudges, he confronts, and at times literally tosses me out of the nest to teach me the importance of learning to fly.

Wherever you're at in life, whatever challenges you face, whatever changes are confronting you - flap!!! Let me encourage you to flap your wings, face the change, and then look at who you have become as a result.