What If?

Father, I wonder what would happen in a church service, if at the end of worship, when the connection of man and deity is pure, or at least as pure as it can be, if there was a pause and a waiting, which often there is. But…what if we waited a little longer? What if a little longer was pushed to the place where we were unfamiliar as to what to do? What if this awkward moment transitioned to a point where we humbly confessed we’re at a loss?

“What do we do, God?”

What if we waited and nothing happened? Whose fault would it be? What if blame didn’t matter and the few who felt adventurous and wanting, wouldn’t relent and insisted on waiting? What if nothing happened and there was no time left for the sermon. And yet a few adventurous and wanting seekers tasted something, a longing for more where they were committed to wait at the expense of the sermon, knowing that Your connection with Your people was vital for the “revival” for which each of them yearned?
What if this went on for weeks and attendance dwindled and the majority of the attendees bitterly complained… lashed out with cutting slurs on the minority of seekers… left the church, or even excommunicated the trouble making, defiant, un-submitted seeker clan, announcing they were no longer allowed through the church doors? What if this small group was pronounced outcasts, heretics and no other community of believers were allowed to speak to such rebellious riffraff? What if this small band of passionate idealists wanted Your glory so badly they continued to diligently seek You out in moments of hopeful silence and revelation? What if they humbly sought out direction from the Holy Spirit? And what if the Spirit led them where they would never have thought they would ever go?

Pause, seek, wait.

Waiting is relational; another reason why we’re not good at it and why it is so awkward. But isn’t meeting with our Head more important than a spinal impulse of a sermon? How many good sermons have been heard? Thousands? How many great sermons? Hundreds? How many spiritual revelations in the moment of spiritual connection with our heavenly Father? There probably hasn’t been hundreds, but which of these have been more impactful. I would wager that Your direct relational revelation can be recalled in detail of time and place and content. With these our lives have changed forever. With these life pours into us and through us.
This isn’t bizarre, nor does it need to become as such. You don’t reveal Yourself as the ultimate goal. You meet with us with intention and then we get to go do what You said, which is usually the impossible. And as we’re going You keep the revelation fresh by requiring faith to move forward. Your revelation is timely. We wait and when You say so, we go, we do, we come back to wait some more. Waiting is a big thing for You. It’s a faith builder for sure.

“How much do I trust You?”

Stepping out with a lot to lose is another faith builder. Somehow it’s important to remain reliant on Your miracle power than what is familiar and safe. Our acceptance of our gangly awkward adolescent posture is the catalyst for miracle living. Were it any other way we could be comfortable. As children we have blind faith in our parents to provide and keep us safe. As adults we acquire skills and training to make us self reliant and capable. Or at least, that’s the social expectations. And yet we remain as teenagers, children in adult bodies, thinking we know, but don’t and bent on never admitting if we haven’t a clue. Our mind and our bodies disconnected, then throw in spiritual anorexia and, well, it’s a fine mess. How can we ever presume that we have our act together? Are we ever meant to reach such a state? Our perfection is reached only in our level of relationship to You, Father.

The way to You is written on our hearts.

I want to give way to the Holy Spirit’s “rhema”, his word, and have fun with this, no, not as a game, but as the adventure of a lifetime. I want to live with purpose and effectiveness far beyond what I could do alone. I want to follow what was written on my heart and live to my heart’s content in sweet relationship with You, my creative, living, glorious Father.