Tuesday 1 May 2012

FORGOTTEN GOD

A photo taken at a friend's cottage last summer.
 I recently finished "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan.  You may remember a couple of months ago I did a little review of "Crazy Love", also by Chan.  Crazy Love is a novel about how to go deeper into your relationship with God...how to take the next step and really follow Jesus.  Forgotten God is completely different and focuses on the Holy Spirit.  Chan analyzes the Holy Spirit's importance and role in our lives.

For me, one of the most interesting sections of this novel speaks about God's calling in our lives.  Often you'll hear people talk this way, saying God has a purpose for them.  Sometimes people claim to be waiting for this purpose to be made known to them.  Chan states waiting for God's calling can be an excuse Christians use.  He says God doesn't care so much what we do ten years from now, He really cares about what we do today.  By waiting for our future purpose, we might be making excuses not to take action in the present.

This reminded me of something my high school ISCF (Inter-Scholastic Christian Fellowship) leader/biology teacher told me.  When I was in grade twelve, I found deciding which university to go to quite stressful.  I had approached Mr. D for advice because I thought him to be a man of God (who had been making the same decision a few years before me) and I greatly respected his opinion.  As a seventeen year old, I did not expect the answer I received.

Mr. D asked me, "Have you prayed about this?"

My response was, "Well, of course I have!!  I want to know where God thinks I should spend the next four years!  He must want me to be somewhere specific!"

Wisely, Mr. D then told me, "God wants you to raise up your decisions to Him.  He wants to be a part of your life and He wants you to look to Him for guidance.  However, God isn't going to send you a miraculous sign from heaven to show you which university to attend.  He won't send a lightning bolt to University A so you know that's where you're supposed to be.  He wants to be included in your decision and He'll make sure the decision you make is the right one."

Wow.  As a teenager, I thought that was the most awesome thing I had ever heard.  I think he was totally right.  That's my "God's purpose" story.  God wants to be a part of what you do today.  You don't have to make decisions for the next ten years because you think they are part of God's will.  Maybe they are, maybe they aren't.  Allow Him to be part of your daily decisions and He will make sure you are doing as He wants.

And back to the Holy Spirit, remember: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control are the fruits of the Spirit.  I'm certainly not someone who memorizes Bible verses, (although I can paraphrase quite a few - ha),but in high school I took the time to learn these.  They're what you should be producing if you are living a life of faith with the assistance of my man, H.S.  They seemed like something to strive for and so I thought it was important I knew what they were.  Quite often I recite them to myself and think about the ones I'm not doing well (which is often all of the above).  Regardless, they're something to strive for!

2 comments:

  1. hey amy, i know i'm a little late on the comment (3 weeks later....), but i loved this post so much that i had to comment, even late!
    i think your teacher was really insightful, and you are so right - i think a lot of people use not knowing their "calling" from God as an excuse - we need to get out there NOW and make an impact today, not wait around for that lightning bolt that isn't going to come!
    The purpose of prayer (in my opinion) is to show God that we trust Him, and want to include Him in our decisions, and to hopefully find some sort of clarity with our thoughts - not for that big "AHA!" moment that a lot of people seem to seek :)
    Loved this post, and loved reading your insights!
    take care!
    - Colleen

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  2. Thanks, Colleen! The story about my teacher is something I think back on anytime I have an important decision to make. We definitely need to take action any way we can now (even if they're small ways) rather than sitting idly by waiting for the lightning bolt, as you said!

    I totally agree with your thoughts on the purpose of prayer. I also think it's meant to calm our nerves. God probably won't intervene and make sure I get 100 on an exam, but praying about it will certainly calm me down in the meantime!

    Thanks for commenting! :) (Even late - haha.)

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