Category Archives: Hearing from God

Glancing Back… and Forward

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Tonight I looked back at the New Year’s Day blogs I’ve posted since Nate died: January 1 of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013.

Happy New YearIt was interesting to read what I’d been thinking about when one  year rolled into the next. As I read, I felt somehow superior to the beginning-of-the-year-Margaret who was writing on those January 1sts, and in a way I was, because I now know what she didn’t know then about her upcoming year.

For example, when I wrote at the start of 2010 asking God to prepare me for whatever the year would bring, I now can see exactly how he did that. Or in 2012, when I wrote about choosing a banner-year Bible verse praying for “quietness and trust in God” (Isaiah 30:15), I now can see the considerable turmoil the year was going to bring and can understand the reason he influenced me toward that particular verse.

After reading each of those 4 New Year’s Day blogs, I was nodding and saying, “I get it now. I see what God was doing.”

That might be a bit of the way God feels about time passing. He doesn’t have to wait 365 days to know the details of any given year and never stands at the threshold of another January 1st wondering what will happen next. And as for feeling superior, he’s profoundly so.

So then why doesn’t he let us in on some of what’s coming, just like the end-of-the-year-Margaret could have informed the beginning-of-the-year-Margaret? One reason might be that we wouldn’t like what he told us. Another is evident in a verse I used on a New Year’s blog from the year after Nate died: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

It should be enough for us to know that God is the Almighty, the unequaled Number One in the Universe, exempt from the passing of time. The fact that he is the One keeping our futures hidden ought to be enough to quell our questions. But it usually isn’t. Our lack of future-knowledge leaves us edgy and dissatisfied at the start of a new year.  How are we supposed to plan ahead or be ready for emergencies if we don’t know what’s going to happen?

A new yearMaybe a more important question is, “A year from now, what will I wish I’d gained from 2014?” For me, it’s the blessing of God, no matter what that looks like. Psalm 111:10 says, “The good life begins in the fear of God. Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God.”  (The Message) And isn’t that what all of us want between January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015? The good life and the blessing of God.

If a good life begins with the fear of God (acknowledging that he’s #1 and is the only Person controlling everything), we can start on securing it right away. And if we need more specifics than that, he’ll agree to let us have them…. 12 months from now.

Glory Be!

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Jesus is, of course, THE reason for the season of Christmas. He’s front and center, the main event, and we ought never to lose sight of that. But it’s also meaningful to examine what was happening around him as he arrived into our world.

ShepherdsHis birth announcement, for example, was created by those living in his heavenly neighborhood and was a unique and powerful proclamation. God chose to publicize his Son’s arrival by dispatching a special angel to a few unsuspecting shepherds outside the little town of Bethlehem.

I can’t wait to ask God why those particular men were his first choice to learn of the birth. And though an angelic encounter would have been spectacular by itself, Scripture tells us God also enveloped these men in his own glory on that ordinary hill. Along with the angel, they stood inside that glowing circle of God’s presence, probably doing their best just to stay conscious. Imagine! The glory God! What must that have been like?

It reminds me of another glory-episode, the one on Mt. Sinai where Moses begged God to show him that same glory. The reason God said yes was because Moses had found favor with him (Exodus 33). The experience was so unusual, it caused his skin to glow supernaturally for weeks afterward.

Birth announcementBut the angelic announcement and the glory event weren’t the only Christmas gifts those shepherds received. Suddenly the night skies grew bright with “a vast host of heaven’s armies,” angels as far as the eye could see. And they all had the same message: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

The men were told that the glory surrounding them belonged to God himself, with the hint that they were experiencing it/him because they’d found favor with God (echoing the Moses incident).

As a child I was taught the heavenly hosts were singing their message, but Scripture says they were actually saying it, most likely shouting it. Maybe they spoke in unison or maybe it was a chorus-like speech the likes of which we’ve never heard, but surely it was ear-pleasing and beautiful. As the angels finished, I’ll bet those shepherds glowed.

In a mangerIt didn’t take but a few seconds to mobilize a run into town, doing manger checks till they found one with a baby in it. Mary and Joseph must have said, “How did you know?” and oh the story they had to tell!  If these new parents had harbored any doubts about who that baby was, the shepherds’ report surely quelled them.

Today we again celebrate Jesus’ astonishing arrival. And though we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, through Jesus we can find favor with him. That’s why I believe we, too, will one day get to see the glory of God!

“The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)

Asking God

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This or thatIn recent years many of us have learned to ask questions in a new way. It goes something like this: “Would you like such-and-such, or no?” We don’t simply say, “Would you like such-and-such?” We add “…or no” to force the questionee to come forth with a neat and tidy answer. Subconsciously we want them to commit to yes or no, because the in-betweens can get complicated.

I’m ashamed to say sometimes I do the same thing to God. “Lord, do you want me to do this certain thing, or no?” I want a clear-cut response, because I don’t do well with “maybe” or “wait a while” or “we’ll see.”

The other day I received an email from our oldest son, Nelson, who is currently making his way from Russia’s Siberia to our home in Michigan. In the email he described an important decision he needed to make and as always, was asking God what to do. To quote Nelson:

So my prayer was, “Is it this or is it that?” And the answer was, “Neither.”

And therein lies the trouble with giving God an “either-or” choice. Because none of us know what’s about to happen, the best we can do is guess at a couple of possibilities. Asking God to make it “this-or-that” is like asking a child to draw a rainbow with black and white crayons.

God’s answers to prayer come in all colors, and he won’t be boxed in by our desire for black-and-white answers. Maybe the best way to ask for his opinion is with open-ended questions:

  • What should I do about this dilemma, Lord?
  • How do you want me to view these unexpected circumstances?
  • Which of your promises should I cling to during this crisis?

Answers structured by God will always outshine those we put to him requesting “this-or-that.” Nelson’s comment about God answering him with “neither” turned out to be the beginning of an important conversation between the two of them that produced a deeper faith-walk in Nelson. Had God answered with one of the choices of his “this-or-that” prayer, the whole faith-strengthening conversation that was initiated with God’s “neither” would not have occurred.

Our questionsPraying open-ended-ly teaches us to separate from our own limited ideas and encourages us to risk trusting the One who has the best answers to all our question marks. This means we have to approach him without suggesting how he should solve our problems.

As part of that process, he might come back at us with a few questions of his own, questions that will direct us to his answers of our original questions.

Our God is the God of the unexpected. Or, to put it more positively, the God of surprises. And if we insist his answers be “this-or-that,” we may not get any answers at all.

“Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.” (Proverbs 19:2)