“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him” (Acts 9:3, NIV 2011).
I misunderstood him when he first spoke, “He’s real!”
I had to ask him to repeat; the phone connection was unclear.
“I heard you last week.” He repeated, “He’s real. I was driving down the road and suddenly I knew that God is real; and now He is in my life, just like you said.”
Two weeks before, as a part of my initial patient history, I had asked Raymond about his religious faith.
“I was raised a Christian and tried to believe; but, somehow, God just never seemed real.”
I knew this man was headed toward a difficult illness and had responded, “God is definitely real and I would recommend you seek Him again.”
Two weeks later, Raymond cried out to me over a poorly connected phone, “He’s real!”
“It’s real!”
“He’s real!”
How often in our lives have we been “surprised by joy,” as C.S. Lewis put it, and observed God manifest Himself in such a way that we see Him clearly, all doubt is erased and all of life seems whole?
These are the moments when the pieces of our puzzle fit, the black angry pieces fitting well into the bright sunrise pieces.
Such moments of truth most often come to us in times of worship, times of retreat or times of deliverance. They come, most often, when we are not trying to find them, in times when our focus on ourselves is dramatically diminished by true worship, escape from the usual or utter dependence.
Can we seek to find such moments more often?
We probably should not.
I suspect such moments are a gift, the type of gift that diminishes if we seek it selfishly.
But we can seek more sincere worship, more times of retreat with our Lord and a more deliberate dependence on His power.
Perhaps then we might more often be surprised by joy---because, indeed, He is real.
Dear Father,
As often as is best for your mission and my service, let me see you in glory.
Amen
I misunderstood him when he first spoke, “He’s real!”
I had to ask him to repeat; the phone connection was unclear.
“I heard you last week.” He repeated, “He’s real. I was driving down the road and suddenly I knew that God is real; and now He is in my life, just like you said.”
Two weeks before, as a part of my initial patient history, I had asked Raymond about his religious faith.
“I was raised a Christian and tried to believe; but, somehow, God just never seemed real.”
I knew this man was headed toward a difficult illness and had responded, “God is definitely real and I would recommend you seek Him again.”
Two weeks later, Raymond cried out to me over a poorly connected phone, “He’s real!”
“It’s real!”
“He’s real!”
How often in our lives have we been “surprised by joy,” as C.S. Lewis put it, and observed God manifest Himself in such a way that we see Him clearly, all doubt is erased and all of life seems whole?
These are the moments when the pieces of our puzzle fit, the black angry pieces fitting well into the bright sunrise pieces.
Such moments of truth most often come to us in times of worship, times of retreat or times of deliverance. They come, most often, when we are not trying to find them, in times when our focus on ourselves is dramatically diminished by true worship, escape from the usual or utter dependence.
Can we seek to find such moments more often?
We probably should not.
I suspect such moments are a gift, the type of gift that diminishes if we seek it selfishly.
But we can seek more sincere worship, more times of retreat with our Lord and a more deliberate dependence on His power.
Perhaps then we might more often be surprised by joy---because, indeed, He is real.
Dear Father,
As often as is best for your mission and my service, let me see you in glory.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment