God Still Speaks Today
As believers, we accept a lot of things on faith. We are more than willing to accept certain truths solely based on faith because God has come through in so many other ways to build and solidify that faith. Years ago, at a time when I was growing in the Lord, serving my church, loving my faith resurgence, I still had one nagging issue that I struggled to deal with.
It would crop up on Sunday’s mostly during worship. A particular song or phrase would underscore the great sacrifice that God made by sending his Son to earth to die. I could go from weeping tears of joy on the previous song to suddenly hitting an analytical brick wall the next.
Wait, I thought. God knew what was going to happen. He knew it was going to be fine in the end. It was what…33 measly years out of tens of thousands of years, what’s the big deal?
The Patience of God
For those of you, fellow baby boomers or otherwise, that ducked their heads when they read that last sentence, it’s okay to ask God questions when you have doubts and are honestly looking to build your faith. He put up with Gideon, Elijah, Peter, Thomas, and the father of a sick boy in Mark 9:24;
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Mark 9:24 ESV
For the record, I asked that question a lot. What was the big deal? It wasn’t a stumbling block, and I often prayed for God to explain to me the relevance and the truth of this concept, but He wasn’t ready to answer me right away.
A couple of years went by and I continued to pursue that truth and others as my faith grew. As a father of five kids, a full time job, and a Sunday school teacher…I had plenty to do as it was. I was willing to put this one on the back burner a bit and chalk it up to being another mystery I may not learn until I get to heaven. I was willing to take God at his word and know that if and when he reveals this understanding to me, it will be on His time.
Taking My Daughter To College
Of those five kids, only one is a girl. That girl had rapidly become a young woman heading off to college. At only five hours away, it was far enough to give us all separation, but not so far that visits couldn’t be facilitated regularly if desired.
As a father, I was excited about this opportunity for her, and looking forward to this next chapter in her life. Until I wasn’t. As the date drew nearer to make that final trip back to the campus, this time returning without her, I began to feel a foreboding sense of dread and loss. Even now, a decade removed, I can barely rein in the emotion as I remember the experience. We were (and are) extremely close, often to the detriment of my other relationships. The feelings I had were nothing short of a form of grief, and I would break down frequently in those last couple of weeks before she left.
I knew she was going to be fine. I knew this was her destiny. I knew she would return. Yet nothing could stop the anguish I was feeling about her leaving.
Hey McFly
In addition to having a reverent and loving view of our God, I also have a humorous one. How could you not?
“Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
1 Kings 18:27 ESV
So it was in the midst of this “tragedy” I was going through when God finally revealed his Truth to me in a personal way that made sense to me. I can’t be certain, but I may have felt a light slap on the back of my end and heard a quiet, divine utterance of “Hey McFly”.
Then He really let me have it, in a thorough and loving way I’ll never forget. It went something like this:
So, Patrick. NOW you know how I felt. NOW you know the anguish I went through. Your argument about it only being 33 years out of tens of thousands? Let me remind you of 2nd Peter 3:8,
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
That “measly” 33 years as you called it, is 12,045 days. Yeah, do the math…over 12 million years. That’s a whole different perspective isn’t it? But I don’t need to explain that to you because you’ve just lived it. You know how I felt. Yes, I knew Jesus would return to me, but it in no way diminished the anguish and sacrifice I felt. Now you know. You know how it felt to me.
Revelation, Gratefulness, and Awe
The revelation of that moment has never been lost on me. I will always be grateful for the fact that The Almighty God of the universe cared enough about me to reveal His truth to me. I’m in awe of that fact, and it cemented my faith even further.
His manifestation of that truth and others might be different for you. If there is something you are struggling with believing or understanding, pray about it…repeatedly. Don’t be afraid to crack a few books and get in the Word as well, sometimes the answer is already there. For me, this one just wasn’t, but that didn’t prevent the truth from being known to me.
Boomer Opinions 