Have you ever asked God to tell you what to do? I have …
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Leave a comment and tell us a story: have you ever received clear instructions from God? Did you ask for them?
P.S. — Here’s the text of that poem.
On Not Having Heard From God Recently I think that if I were King, I'd want a captain who doesn't keep asking, What should I do now? I'd want an agent who knows what I want, and does it, and rarely asks for advice or permission. I'd want an independent servant, someone I have to seek out to comfort from time to time. I'd find her in the field, at night, in the chapel there alone, with her weapons beside her. I'd sit down next to her, pray with her. After a while, just as dawn began to lighten the sky, I'd say: Hello, Captain. It's me. I just want you to know, I'm grateful for all you do. Anything I can do for you? Anything you need? And my captain would smile, maybe for the first time in days, and she'd say: No thanks, Boss. I've got it covered.
In an age of constant instant trivial communication, God sure is frustratingly unwired and off-line…
Your image of the King and captain is certainly very biblical – I have just been writing material about Spiritual Gifts for a weekend workshop. I footnoted the “Parable of the Talents” in Matthew 25:14-30 and point out that the spiritual gifts we’ve been given are not really so much a “gift” as but being “entrusted with a treasure” or “empowered to act” in someone’s stead. And, as Jesus’ parables points out, there’s really nothing more frustrating than entrusting someone to act in your stead and finding out they’ve done nothing.
On the other hand, it’s a little silly to not tell your captain your intentions and trust in their mind-reading ability.
I have sometimes asked for clear instructions from God. I think on one occasion, the person who eventually married me showed up as an answer. In another case, it was a rose bush.
The rose bush actually did carry a strong metaphorical meaning to me at the time – because I was wondering what was the PURPOSE of what I was DOING that seemed so meaningless and the rose bush just suddenly stopped me in my tracks and said: what is the PURPOSE of these FLOWERS? – just bloom. But, you have to admit, a rose bush is not exactly a direct way of communicating.
A rose bush. Yes. I see we’ve been hearing from the same deity.
When I was coming to the end of my seminary studies, I was still unsure what to do next. I prayed about it a lot. And the answer I kept getting was straight out of John 21: “Feed my sheep.” That passage was very much on my mind, and in my dreams, all year. And Isn’t that just like God — “feed my sheep!” Give me a break! Is there any ministry that wouldn’t cover? I complained to the management: “Would it be too much to ask, O Inscrutable One, Ancient of Days, for something a little more specific?”
But the truth is that I love my freedom. I’m not really that great at following orders. So perhaps it’s just as well that the answers to my prayers have been so open-ended, so often.