'It's a God Thing'

Lord Reveals His Plan In ‘Ah-Ha’ Moments

For most Christians the word "revelation" immediately brings to mind the name of the last book of the Bible. And John of Patmos does reveal an encouraging -- albeit confusing -- word to those being persecuted through the symbolic language in the book of that name. But we miss out on the many ways in which God has revealed God's purpose and God's self throughout history, if we get stuck identifying revelation with Revelation!

Take Abraham and Sarah for example. God talked with both of them. They knew it was God, although often it was another person giving them the message. God talked with Jacob through a dream, and God revealed God's self to Moses in a burning bush. God directed the prophets through many means, revealing to them messages to share with God's people. Sometimes, God was even in the silence!

You see, a revelation is when something is revealed. It's sort-of that "ah-ha" moment when you understand. I'm often asked how to know an answer to prayer is from God or just your own self-will. It essentially comes down to revelation. I wish an angel of the Lord -- complete with wings and a harp -- would swoop down from heaven and give me messages from God. But that's not how it works.

The word "angel" means "messenger," and regular people have brought messages from God: Take the strangers visiting Abraham and Sarah at Mamre. Often, a friend -- or even a newscaster on television -- says something, and I immediately know it's something I should pay attention to. It's a "God" thing. That's a revelation.

The other way God reveals God's will is through the Holy Spirit. Discerning that a revelation is from God is tricky -- don't get me wrong, I don't have this thing down to a science. But if I'm in a rut, my energy level is low, I think I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing and something just isn't right ... that's usually the Holy Spirit giving me a nudge to be open to something new that's coming my way -- or to be in prayer for answers to what's going on.

I'll admit to playing games with God when I'm not trusting the direction I'm sensing could be God's plan. When I felt called to seminary, I put up all sorts of "hoops" for God to jump through, so I'd know my sense of call was from God. I waited until the last minute in the summer to submit an application to seminary; then our girls and I needed a place to live, and -- probably most important -- the girls needed to attend just the right school close to the seminary. I explained to God that, if everything didn't fall right into place, then certainly God didn't want me to go to seminary. And, of course, every need I had was met.

That's another way we experience God's revelations: When doors close, windows open. Perhaps they don't open as quickly as we'd like, and sometimes they don't seem like windows -- they seem like holes. But, in hindsight, it's obvious that was God's plan all along. That's the thing about revelation: God's path is hard to see going forward, and it's so clear looking back! Be open to God's revealing God's self to you in the ordinary, the silence, the friend and the uneasiness.

NAN Religion on 08/09/2014

Upcoming Events