Faith comes by hearing
Several Years ago, I was in a car wreck. It was my fault. I turned too quickly, the car behind me had little warning, and almost no opportunity to stop. Behind me I heard screeching tires and felt a powerful impact. No one was hurt seriously. Bruises and scrapes, and a few days of sore muscles.
For months afterward, every time I heard screeching tires I startled, and braced for an impact. My nervous system seemed to have a mind of it’s own. I reacted without consciously choosing to do so.
This response was the substance of something unseen.
Here is what I have come to know. Faith comes by hearing.
If you are someone who knows the Bible, you may recognize that this phrase comes from the New Testament. The book of Romans in particular. You might even know that the next verse says, “…and hearing comes by the Word of Christ.”
But I think the first part can stand alone. Faith comes by hearing.
I heard screeching tires and my heart deeply received…for months, my faith, my deep, deep belief, was in the sound I heard, and in an event that was no longer happening. Everything about me responded as if the event was still real, present and active.
I have a friend, who for years heard these words. “You are stupid”
She heard.
The words had power over her, her heart had received, and she believed. She did not have to see herself acting stupid. Her faith was the substance of something she initially did not see. The more she believed, the more she DID see. Her grades in school, her life choices… became the experience of what she believed, and she believed because she had heard.
Faith comes by hearing. Coose carefully who and what you listen to. Listen to those things that you want to experience as real, present and active in your life.
What’s your source?
Adam and Eve just had one rule to follow. It was a simple rule. Easy to understand. I think it’s good things were so simple because they weren’t designed to live by rules anyway. The only rule was – don’t live by rules.
Humans were designed to live by God’s life and presence, directed moment by moment out of a place of relationship and surrender. We were designed to have God as our source. We were designed to love God and to be loved by God.
Love, in order to be love, must be freely chosen. Love that is not freely chosen is not love. Love that is compelled is not love. Love that is forced is not love. Love that is taken is not love. Love, in its very essence, requires freedom: the freedom to choose love.
If there is a genuine freedom to choose love, there must be a genuine freedom to NOT choose love. There must be an option. There must be an alternative. There must be a way to freely exercise the will to choose that which love is not. If humans are to genuinely have the freedom to choose to live by God’s life and presence in moment by moment surrender with God as their source, there must be the possibility of choosing a different source.
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was necessary in the Garden of Eden for this reason. This tree is a different source: the knowledge of good and evil. At its worst this kind of living gravitates towards the experience of all things evil. At its best this kind of living strives to avoid evil and do good in an effort to perform correctly and merit God’s favor. The trap of religion is that often it simply entices us to move from an evil branch to a good branch within the same tree. We give up sinful behaviors and adopt new “good” behaviors. Those that do this poorly feel a great deal of condemnation and a deep compulsion to try harder. Those that do this well feel a great sense of superiority and smugness. They are self-righteous.
In either case, this is no way to live. What’s your source?
Genuine repentance doesn’t just change from evil branches to good within the Tree of Knowledge. Genuine repentance switches trees entirely. Genuine repentance gives up all reliance upon self: my knowledge, my understanding, my effort, my performance. Genuine repentance chooses to live by a new source: God’s life and presence.
Information or Revelation
I was hit with a pretty intense revelation the other day. It’s basically this: when God speaks, he’s not just communicating information. When God speaks, he’s often activating a new reality. He’s realizing (making real) something new when he speaks it.
For most of my journaling experience, I would journal with this notion that when God speaks, he’s only communicating information. I’ve realized now that it’s more than just information. When God speaks, he creates. He activates. He “calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17). He brings into reality something new, something alive, something with purpose when he speaks.
For example, in Genesis, God said, “Let there be life” and life was created. God said, “It is good.” And it was good. It was blessed as good.
When God needed a Savior, he sent his Word (John 1). God’s Word became flesh. When God spoke, his tangible, experiential existence came into being. We could see, taste, hear, touch, smell the Word of God. He became real.
Immediately, I must repent. I must change the way I’ve been thinking. I take time to journal and listen to God, which is not a problem. That’s a good thing. The problem is that when God speaks, I only receive his words as information, not a declaration. I need to receive what God says to me as a new reality, a newly created existence or situation. When God speaks, reality is created.
Something that was not will become when God speaks.
Seeing the invisible God
In the visible creation God has expressed His invisible attributes. But you can look and miss it.
The sun came up today, to remind you that the God who never changes, still constantly renews all things.
The Planet hung suspended in space one more day, with a perfect balance of temperature, atmosphere, and stability in order to maintain human life. God holds all things together by continuing to speak the same words that created all things.
The rain fell today in certain places to remind us that God sustains and nurtures out lives.
The rain did not fall in certain places to remind us that God Himself is enough when we are uncertain of our provision.
The wind blew gently today, reminding us that God is constantly in motion and interacting with His creation.
In some places the wind became violent and destroyed things. In this we see that the immensity and intensity of God is beyond our comprehension, and must be held in wise regard.
A married couple walked together in sweet unity reminding us that God is a two-become-one God.
Another couple walked through difficulty as they tried to connect through their chaos. In this we can see how different in nature man and God are. Crossing the gap can be difficult, and requires our focus.
A butterfly came from a cocoon, while a polar bear died a cold and lonely death. Trees grew and mountains fell. Oceans fed the people living on their shores, and in other places the fierce oceans caused men to stay home instead of put out in their boats.
Nebulae are creating stars and Solar systems in every direction, while DNA is replicating the minute intricacies of a single family line. Electricity flows, radio waves fill the air, Living creatures of amazing variety cover the surface of our planet.
A baby is born.
In these and countless infinite moments you can either see the Nature of the Invisible God, or you can walk through the middle of it, and think only of yourself.
Even the fact that you have this option tells us something about the Invisible God.
Think Bigger.
Ask God, expect answers
Yesterday, I was reminded of this scripture from James 1:5-8
- “If you need wisdom–if you want to know what God wants you to do–ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.”
It is so simple, yet so profound. As I re-read this scripture, it rejuvenated my faith. God desires to help us, to answer our questions, to respond to our need for wisdom. God desires to speak to us, and he doesn’t resent us for asking.
Everyday, we have a myriad of decisions we have to make. Our life is not decided on the big decisions we make every now and then. No. Our life is determine by the cumulative decisions we make every day.
Too often, we rush into a prayer, “Lord, what should I do in this situation?” We wait long and hard for 12 seconds. But, after “hearing” nothing, we run off and make our own decision. That’s not expecting God to speak. That’s not faith.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it’s impossible to please God.” God loves it when we believe, when we have faith. If we ask God for wisdom for a situation, we need to listen, and really listen. Press in, hold on, wait. He’ll respond. He promised he would. Don’t be like a wave on the sea tossed about by the storms of doubt. Believe.
What does an answer from God sound like, look like, feel like? I don’t think there is any single way that God answers. I would expect it to be different every time. I think about when my son comes to me with a question. Sometimes, I just tell him the answer. Sometimes, I tell him a story to exemplify the answer. Other times, I get up and show him the answer. There’s even times I want him to search out the answer through a different means. It’s different for different circumstances.
Don’t go to God like he’s a giant spiritual wikipedia–plug in the question, spit an answer. No, that’s not relationship. God is far more concerned about you, not just the answers you need. Sure, he wants you to come to him when you need wisdom, but come to him through relationship, not just through a need to know something.
This week, when your faced with a decision, I challenge you to go to God. Ask him. Listen. Wait. Listen some more. Press in. Listen carefully.
Expect an answer.
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