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4 Comments
Comments
Jan 6, 2016 12:13 am
“It’s a little more than belief.”
Those words stood out to me—-about twenty years ago when I was a kid, listening to a talk on tape Chris gave back when “Gadiantons” was still new. They’ve stuck with me to this day, and I think that sentence is one of the best and most concise ways to distinguish our faith from others. Because other religions, as good and uplifting as they can be, can really only rely on mere belief. We have access to a little more than that—-revelation.
I know exactly what Chris is talking about regarding those awakening moments where you suddenly realize the reality of prayer, and the reality of revelation, after having gone through something of a spiritual slump. It’s always there! Always available. And always I ask myself the same thing: why did I ever wander from the Lord? Why did I ever forget? Laziness and selfishness and self-pity are often the reasons. Because unfortunately we are, as the hymn says, “prone to wander…prone to leave the God [we] love.” (That’s “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” for the record.)
I think in the podcast Chris talked about sometimes getting or needing revelation “hourly.” One of the spiritual challenges I subject myself to from time to time is an enactment of “I Need Thee Every Hour”: I set an alarm to go off every hour and when it does, I simply drop to my knees and say a prayer, checking in with God and making sure I’m in the right place, doing the right thing. I’ve found it’s an excellent way to “stay close to the Lord,” and awaken my slumbering soul. My wife’s just a couple weeks away from our first child’s due date and I’ve felt Satan trying to knock me off track (and succeeding too often) and so I’ve tried to do the “Every Hour” challenge all this week (was successful yesterday, though today an extended and utterly fruitless trip to the Apple Store threw off my whole mental routine).
Anyway, it’s sometimes so easy to forget the reality and availability of God—-but then it’s also sometimes so easy to remember. We’re finally driven to prayer by desperation and we pray for peace and then . . . we get it. And suddenly the world makes sense, and is manageable, and the evil spirits leave. Then we start coasting and forget again, etc. I’ve gone through that cycle way too many times in the last few months, but I think that’s okay, because I’ve subsequently developed an awesome testimony of prayer and revelation. Confirmed for me many, many times, has been that line, “It’s a little more than belief.”
Jan 6, 2016 9:01 pm
After too long, it is good to hear your voice again, my friend!
Jan 9, 2016 6:27 am
This was a great podcast this week. It brought to mind many of the personal revelations I’ve had in my life. Some seemed small while others hit like a lightning bolt. In both ways, I could feel the Lord guiding my life and know of a surety of his influence.
Thank you, Chris. For every podcast. They MAKE my week.
Feb 6, 2016 1:40 pm
While talking to Eric last night he told me about your podcasts. I will listen to them all now. So happy for you.