Never a Dull Moment with God

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One of my favorite songs during my college years was “The Great Adventure,” by Steven Curtis Chapman. Looking back on it now, the western-themed music video filled with galloping horses and a leather-vest wearing Steven with big floppy hair seems so over the top and cliched, but back then — oh, that was cutting edge for contemporary Christian music. Somehow, though, despite it’s dated sound and the fact that I haven’t listened to it in ages, it came roaring back into my head today, playing over and over in my mind and reminding me to celebrate its central message: a life spent following God is never dull… never meaningless… and always filled with something new around the corner.

If you’re not familiar with the lyrics, the chorus challenges us to saddle up our horses, cause we have a trail to blaze into the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace. But my favorite lines are found in the bridge:
We'll travel on, over mountains so high
We'll go through valleys below
Still through it all we'll find that
This is the greatest journey
That the human heart will ever see
The love of God will take us far
Beyond our wildest dreams

If you want to join me in the fun and don’t mind falling prey to its catchy chorus becoming an earworm in your mind for the rest of the day, then check out this fresh spin (watch on YouTube) on the song with Steven and guest Bart Millard of MercyMe fame. 

This song came galloping back to me — sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun — this week as my husband and I reached a box-packing, emotionally-charged crescendo in preparing to make a cross-country move from Maine to California. For many of my regular readers and listeners, you know that my year began with the passing of my beloved Dad, followed by the realization that God was calling us to go west. So I guess in some cheesy way, the expansive Rocky Mountain scenes of the 1992 video seem to fit with my outlook right now. I can choose to look at this move as the end of a chapter I don’t want to be over, or I can see it as a new beginning, trusting that God has purpose and joy waiting for us wherever He plants us. 

There is not enough space here to tell you how deeply rooted we are in Maine with my family, the sweetest friendships, a church body with a mission we love, and a home we built ourselves. There’s no question that leaving is hard. Okay, beyond hard. I can’t even describe it, despite my propensity for wordiness. But this God has made abundantly evident: when He calls you to a new beginning, He always brings His peace and boldly blazes a trail. Like any challenging trail through unknown, mountainous territory, you may not see any further ahead than the next marker on a tree, but you can clearly see His hand at work around you. At times, you may also be exhausted, overwhelmed, and uncomfortable. But no matter how you feel, you’ll still sense His peace and presence. As Ney Bailey says in one of my favorite books, Faith is Not a Feeling, “You and I can either grow accustomed to listening to our feelings, thoughts, and circumstances, letting them control us, or we can be in the habit of taking God at His word despite our feelings and life experiences. We need to choose with our wills to believe that His Word is truer than our feelings.” 

Since I will be packing up my office next week and will become like a nomad for the first half of July, today is my last blog post from the great state of Maine. So before the next adventure officially kicks off with a moving van carrying upwards of 200 color-coded and cataloged boxes (yes, I am that type of person), I wanted to share five of the lessons God has been teaching me or reinforcing with me during this prolonged season of major upheavals. Perhaps a few of them will also encourage you during your own seasons of change, doubt, or waiting. While I won’t be able to produce new blog posts or podcast episodes for the next three weeks, I am sure God will be filling my mind with plenty of ideas for new messages during the many days of driving through America’s heartland. So I am already looking forward to being back with you starting July 17th from sunny Northern California. 

1. God is the provider of the feast, not unsatisfying snacks. Another way to say it is: God always brings us what’s best and He longs for us to never settle or take shortcuts to get second best. Throughout Scripture we see God as the founder of the feast, always offering His children the best when they choose Him. In John 2, Jesus performs His first miracle, which was turning water to wine at a wedding feast. Upon tasting it, the banquet manager exclaims in verse 10, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” What God has been speaking to me is that His best is worth waiting for, and when He does bring His plans to fruition, they will be far more than I could’ve imagined if I wait on Him and trust Him. Earlier in this process, I found myself praying for the equivalent of snack — just a taste of God’s glory — when what He had in mind was far more complete than I would’ve dared hope for. 

2. God doesn’t need human cooperation to bring about His will. We simply can’t help thinking more of ourselves than we should. After all, we all live with the day-to-day disappointment of other people letting us down, frustrating us, or choosing the wrong path. So when people don’t seem to be acting the way we think they should in order to align with what God has planned, we may assume that we misunderstood God or that He will have to change His plans due to human misbehavior. But just as God both hardened and then softened the heart of Pharoah (in Exodus 11:10 and 12:30-32), we can rest assured that if God wants something to happen, it will. And if we trust Him to bring it about His way and in His timing, then we get the thrill of watching His handiwork unfold. 

3. God gives us the chance to participate in miracles. Perhaps one of the saddest situations is when you or I try to wade through the changes of life alone. But just as Jesus included the disciples in the miracles He performed, so we should include others around us in both the work God is calling us to do and the decisions we need to make. We do this through prayer. And when we don’t ask others to cover us in prayer over big decisions, changes, struggles, and grief, then we rob them of the chance to participate in God’s miracles. When a close-knit group of believers spends days, months, or even years supporting someone going through a hard season, there is not only indescribable joy for each victory along the way, no matter how small, there is also an incredible amount of growth in the lives of every group member as they intimately witness the hand of God in all the details. In Luke 15:8-10, Jesus tells the parable about a woman losing a coin and then celebrating with all her friends once it is found. James 5:16 urges believers to pray for one another. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” And Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.”

4. God never contradicts Himself. When a turbulent time engulfs our lives, God promises to work it out for good. But Satan is also working hard to divert us from God’s best or to get us to throw in the towel. Sometimes the evil tactics he tries on us are disguised in a veneer of goodness or practical advice. When my husband and I found a home we liked in California, after praying about it, we made a market-appropriate offer to the owners. They rejected our offer. Not once, but four times. This went on for several agonizing weeks, and all the while we were nearing our moving date without a place to live. With each offer, we came up a little more money until we had reached the maximum number God had laid on our hearts. As God’s Word calls us to be good stewards of the resources He gives us, we knew He didn’t want us to go any higher even though we could’ve found a way to do so. He had given us a line in the sand, regardless of how close the deal seemed. Many people said we shouldn’t let such a small amount deter us from a home we really liked. I’d like to tell you that sticking to our guns was a piece of cake, but as with any situation that we have the power to either solve on our own, or let the Lord handle in His own way, it was very difficult to remain firm. Each time I spent time in prayer, I simply heard, “Wait.” God impressed the same thought on my husband. Eventually, both sides reached a stalemate and we walked away from the property, believing that if God wanted us there, He would’ve made it work at the number He gave us. Several days after we let it go, our realtor called to tell us that the sellers had a change of heart and would indeed accept our offer and terms if we were still ready to commit. It’s hard not to fight for what you want. It’s hard to resist making things happen yourself when it seems like they fit with God’s plans. But if any part of the process contradicts a principle or a promise from Scripture — even if the outcome would be the same — then God wants us to be still and let Him take care of it. Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Some versions use the word “silent” and others use the word “calm,” but all of them apply when all you want to do is squirm, yell, run, or fret. 

5. God brings order to chaos, both in circumstances and most importantly in our hearts. This lesson has been especially hard for me to learn and it might be for you as well. 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God desires order versus confusion or chaos. But clearly He allows chaos to occur in our lives from time to time. Just look at the story of Peter in Matthew 14:22-33 walking on the water toward Jesus. He stepped out of the boat among the chaotic waves and wind to find himself rising above it all. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked unharmed through the continuing storm. But the moment he became aware of his precarious surroundings and began focusing on his impending doom, he sank down. When Peter’s focus was on Jesus, the storm in his heart was calmed. And, of course, we are no different. Jesus calls us to just let the circumstances around us simply be as they are. Through the Holy Spirit, He empowers us to say with conviction, “Nothing around me matters more than Who’s in front of me.” It’s with this vision that we will see God’s hand working to bring order out of the chaos and show us a clear, strong lifeline to safety. In verse 32, Jesus didn’t calm the seas until the disciples placed their trust in Him. Once the work in their hearts was done, God worked to reveal a miracle. “And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

Over the past six months, God has been teaching and revealing so much more to me than these five lessons, but since I am only beginning to grasp their meaning and understand the depth of their impact, I’ll save the rest of them for future blog posts. In the meantime, I hope you’re encouraged in your own seasons of change, doubt, waiting, fear, and loss. There is no storm God doesn’t have a plan to use for His glory. There is no problem you face in which He won’t walk beside you and give you peace. There is no dull moment in any life lived in order to grow closer to Jesus. You may think that nothing is happening. It may seem as though nothing is changing or that nothing ever seems to go in your favor. But you must believe that those perspectives are your own, and not God’s. There is nothing that is not already known by Him. There is nothing that remains unsolved in His future. And so, He asks you and me to rest in the waiting knowing that every moment of our lives can be useful to Him. Every situation can be redeemed… in His timeframe, not ours. Finally, there’s always a new beginning. And it often comes in the darkest hours before the dawn. But that’s exactly when you can let God’s light shine the brightest in your life. Others will look at you and may remark on the darkness you’re facing, but if your eyes remain on Jesus, then the only thing everyone else will be able to talk about is Him. ​

What do you think of today's message? Comment and share your thoughts below! And if God brought someone to mind as you read or listened, please encourage them by sharing this post today!

5-Day Devotional Guide For Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling

• God’s Adventure Spotify Playlist - Created just for this message, this music playlist will fuel your passion for God’s adventure and encourage you during times of change. (Yes, you can listen to the playlist for no charge when you sign up for a FREE account!)
• The questions and readings below can be used for a single-day study or your daily quiet time throughout the week.
• While Glimmers is on vacation for the next 3 weeks, if you need a daily devotional, I encourage you to check out the free plans in the YouVersion app or John Piper’s online daily devotional.

Day 1 - God is the provider of the feast, not unsatisfying snacks. Read Philippians 4:19 and Ephesians 3:20 several times in a few different versions. When have you settled for second best in the past? Why? What is it that you are currently longing for Him to provide? Ask Him to show you any ways in which you are impatient in waiting for His best. Pray and ask Him to give you discernment in seeking only His best and not counterfeits or shortcuts.
Day 2 - God doesn’t need human cooperation to bring about His will. Read Acts 17:24-25, 1 Chronicles 29:11, and Psalm 115:3. How does knowing the God is sovereign over everything bring you comfort when it comes to replying on other people for important things in your life? Spend time in prayer asking God to reassure your heart of His love and control over your life.
Day 3 - God gives us the chance to participate in miracles. Read Matthew 28:18-20 and 1 Peter 4:11. What does this passage tell you about God’s invitation to us to participate in His work and plans?
Day 4 - God never contradicts Himself. Read Hebrews 6:16-20 and Numbers 23:19. In what ways have you wondered about apparent contradictions concerning God, the Bible, or His control over your life? Meditate on these Scriptures and pray them back to Him. Consider memorizing them and repeating them to yourself during times of doubt.
Day 5 - God brings order to chaos, both in circumstances and most importantly in our hearts. Read Joshua 1:9, John 14:27, 1 Corinthians 14:33, and Psalm 37:23. Whichever verse spoke the most to you, spend time reflecting on how it speaks to your heart and circumstances. Then pray it back to God and ask Him to search your heart and speak to you.

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