Oh, that’s you!

Oh, that is you!

A long time ago, in a land far from my home in Springfield, Oregon, a group of slaves found the courage to leave all that they had known to find “a new thing.” At first life was exciting and new. The plan was fairly clear, leave here, follow the voice of the man named Moses, and he will lead you to this promise land. Their food was provided, although it was not “Lucky Noodle” it was food and did what it was supposed to do. They had all the water they needed, not bottled from Safeway but hey it was water and it was wet.
As the journey continued life to this “New Thing” grew more difficult, more demanding and became based on faith, not fact. Expectations of a quick trip, easy steps and a perfectly laid out plan were replaced with hot days, tired feet and weary minds. The people must have thought “Hey, we’re doing what God asked us to do so everything should run according to plan and we should be to this new home soon.” As we know it didn’t work out that way.
Here we sit thousands of years later and don’t we still make the same assumptions? We even teach this sort of thing in churches all over this country. It’s not something we talk about but we set up expectations for ourselves and for others that when the call comes, and we take the step, smooth sailing will follow.
What got me thinking this way this morning was a verse I read in Psalms 78:14
“In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.”
Can you image following a cloud? You are wandering around a wilderness looking for the new thing, for 40-years following a cloud. I think that still happens today. Perhaps God is leading us but the path or the way in which He leads makes no sense and we start to wonder and grumble. Just maybe that cloud, that thing you read the other day or that word from a friend, relative or your wife was like a cloud?
Leaving one thing for another is never easy. Finding freedom, giving up slavery rarely happens in our timing or by our plan.
As I head out today I plan to do a couple of things: ignore the expectations and instead keep my eyes open for a little bit of fire and a cloud or two.

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  Jeff Savage March 31, 2009 at 10:07 pm

  Rick, you are right, there are, indeed, churches that teach a “smooth sailing” gospel… But there are many others that are teaching that following a suffering servant-king means risk and uncertainty, and going (as Abraham did) not knowing where you are going… That is one of the reasons I am so proud of the mission teams that DID go down to Tijuana last week (including a group from FBC Springfield). They went because they beieved they were called to go, and they believed it was worth it. They understood that fear (not doubt) is the opposite of faith, and they risked going.

  I have no idea where the ideas of comfort and certainty and prosperity and “smooth sailing” come from, but I do know this: they don’t come from the scriptures.

  God be with you as you continue stepping out, not knowing where you are going. Peace, Jeff