Chaos or Adventure?
I had the pleasure of visiting a friend of mine this past weekend (and her lovely family) who I don’t get to see often. A combination of the busyness of life and her spirit of adventure that would move her from this place to that country to some house to random tent to Africa Mission complex back to “normal house”. Visiting her usually means being open to chaos (she would say “adventure”) … and I don’t do well with chaos.
I’m also not what you would call a “nature enthusiast.” When people tell me they are going camping, I often wonder why pretending to be homeless is considered “fun” or…ahem “vacation”. When I’m on vacation, there most definitely must be indoor plumbing and, preferably, room service. While I don’t mind a little adventure, there must always be a healthy distance between me and the mosquitos.
But despite all that, I came home from my visit feeling like the weekend was a breath of fresh air and a change of perspective on things I thought I already knew.
It's like that story in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah had a really bad day with the King and Queen, and runs into the wilderness, falls asleep under a tree, and just wants to die. This may be seen as an “exaggerated” response by some, but to me – man, I get it. If I wanted to die, that’s where I’d sleep too (read: camping). Now if you read this carefully, the narrative is super important. In Elijah’s bad day, it is God who pursues him and takes care of him and tells him where to go for a fresh perspective.
“Arise and eat.” 1 Kings 19:5b
First, God sends an angel to feed him. (I don’t know about you, but I’m already excited… in the wilderness, there was room service!) When Elijah finally pours out his heart to God in prayer, Elijah receives this response from the angel:
“Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12.
The rest of the chapter is how God answers Elijah’s prayer, but the point is that God does speak, and He is directing us where to go.
The listening requires two important things.
First, it requires us to get away from the noise and the busyness of our lives… the fires at work, the earthquakes at home, and the winds of life.
Second, we must be willing to listen. But not just any kind of listening, we must be willing to listen to God, not just listen if …. Where my friend listened “to” God – she went, she stayed, she did, she didn’t do- I made a habit of listening “if” – “if” God doesn’t make it too hard, “if” it’s convenient, “if” there’s a healthy distance between me and the mosquitos.
Maybe, just maybe, it is my life that is amid chaos, not hers.
A shift in perspective is important, but experience is crucial. It reminds me of something I read in a book by a great Church Father, St. Basil. He says:
“As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience.” St. Basil
That is why this summer I am thankful to be launching a series on the discipline of prayer and, along with it, a summer challenge for our teens to work with their families to go outside their comfort zone and find all ways to experience God in every aspect of their lives. We can experience the presence of God in worship, but we can also experience the presence of God in nature, through our senses in the arts (e.g., music and iconography), in our hobbies and work, through serving others, and in every aspect of our daily life. The challenge is meant to be something they do both alone and together with their families. I hope to encourage as many families and churches to join along with us this summer as we get reacquainted with that still, small voice.
Check out the two different themed months HERE and HERE. (The challenge is included with the first month).