If you were to sit quietly, reflecting upon how you view God and honestly evaluating the impact he has upon your life, what conclusions would you come to? Can you sense him working through you in ways that are not only changing who you once were, but which also have an immediate, profound impact on those around you? Are you now in a place where you can look back and see where he has worked in you and through you in the past, but haven't felt that in quite some time? Or would you shrug your shoulders and come up with nothing? Are you someone who lifts up a short prayer every now and then, believing that there is a God out there somewhere, but can't point to any specific time where you truly felt him moving in your life?
Wherever you find yourself on that scale is a very personal thing. We all view God from varying points of view, and we have all seen something of him at some point in our lives, be it merely a quick thought of "Maybe this was God" up to knowing beyond a doubt that what you just experienced was nothing short of a miracle of his doing.
Throughout the course of my life, I've found myself living on both ends of that scale. After all, faith is not a one time decision; it's a lifelong process filled with countless decisions and experiences, some very beautiful and some very painful. Some very right and some very wrong.
Most of us have seen the movie "The Ten Commandments." It's the story of Moses being led by God to go to Egypt and demand that Pharaoh release God's people. We watched as God performed miracle after miracle, eventually leading to the greatest miracle in the movie - the parting of the Red Sea. A few minutes later we watch the Israelites walk through the sea on dry land, and then watch as it closes back in on the Egyptian army who were in hot pursuit.
It's very difficult to watch that movie without feeling a sense of awe about the power of God, while also feeling a sense that we would love to see God's power show up in our lives in such ways. What the movie doesn't show is what happened next, on their way to the Promised Land, and how they were forced to wander in the desert for 40 years due to their disobedience and lack of faith. It doesn't show how that entire generation of adults perished in the desert, never seeing the Promised Land.
If we read the rest of the story, we see clear evidence that what God expected from them in return was to walk closely with him, honor him, obey him, and love him with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength. If they did so, he gave them the promise that he would never leave them. He would be their God, and they would be his people. He would dwell with them forever, and his presence among them would be obvious to the entire world.
Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But they failed him time and time again, walking away from him to pursue other, far less important things. Why? Because they, just like us, were very much human. They struggled with the very same sins in their lives that we also struggle with, and just like us, they ignored the presence of God in their lives to pursue these things. But once they made the decision to honor, obey, and trust him, they were led to the Promised Land.
What's not being taught in many churches is that their story was written for us. Their story is our story. Their faith - or lack thereof - is also ours.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are offered the very same things they were offered. We are offered the incredible miracle of having his Spirit living within us, guiding us, directing us, teaching us, and loving us.
But how would we define this faith? How do we know that we have it? If you reread the very first paragraph of this blog, you'll know immediately whether you have it or not. You'll know if you had it one time, but have somehow lost it. You'll know if you've never had it.
But here's the good news; If you've never experienced the sense that God is truly working in very powerful ways in your life, that can all change right now. All it takes is for you to speak to God humbly, respectfully, and graciously, admitting that you have sinned by rejecting his presence in your life, thanking him for sending his son to die for you so that you might have this close, beautiful, loving relationship with him, and asking him to be your God as you promise to be his people. If you do this, he will take you by the hand and lead you into our "Promised Land." which is a life filled with his presence, and an eternity with him. If you've walked closely with him in the past, but aren't now, why not make today the day you leave the desert and return to the Promised Land?
What will be required of you from that moment forward will be that you seek him with all your heart, and in all things. That may sound like a lot of work, but trust me, it's not. Because as you begin to seek him in all things, he will begin to show himself to you in all things, and that, my friends, is just as powerful a miracle as anything you've ever seen in any movie.
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