We can debate about it – whether
or not God literally speaks to us - but anyone with an abiding heart and an ear
to hear has discerned from time to time a most succinctly authoritative, urgent
and even commanding word like YES, NO, NOW, WAIT or GO!
I was recently on a trip to the
mid-west to meet the founders of an organization called Truth @ Work. Once
there I would also receive several days of intensive training to be a
facilitator of their Christian Business Roundtable Groups program here in New England . The trip was the capstone of six months of
due diligence on their part and mine. I was excited and committed – looking
forward to meeting the people I had come to know and respect for their vision
and passion bringing a life and business changing experience to Christian business
leaders.
In the days leading up to the
trip several personal complications and issues seemed to pop up and cloud my
focus on the trip. I was peppered with doubt and second guessing of my decision
to invest in the trip and the cost of the training both financially and
personally. My travel plans had me arriving the evening prior to my scheduled
appointment. I went through the motions of air travel, took a shuttle from the
airport, checked into my room and ate a quick meal at a restaurant a short walk
from my hotel. My mind was in a haze. It was very hot and muggy and I went to
sleep with mild indigestion and a bit of gathering anxiety.
The next morning I awoke in the
predawn darkness disoriented and under spiritual attack. What was I doing here?
This was a mistake. I was not qualified. My motives were all wrong. This would
never fly in New England . No one will care. No
one wants or needs this. I’m wasting my time. I should be more responsible and
look for a real job. The accusations and projections were relentless. I took it
to prayer. The next thing I knew I was putting on my jogging gear and was
headed out the door.
The sun had not yet risen when I
started to run. This would be my morning devotional. The plan was simple; jog
out twenty minutes along the industrial park road that ran in front of the
hotel and back - praying all the way. I quickly discovered that the sidewalk
ran intermittently on both sides of the busy road and I had to keep crossing the
boulevard or jog on and off the curb as traffic went by. All the while I was
praying for peace, encouragement, an overcoming spirit and soundness of mind –
a word.
After only five or ten minutes my legs
were burning and a I had a growing cramp in my side. My mouth was dry. This wasn't working. I turned back and was
about to give up when a side street leading into the industrial park presented
itself and I took a right turn onto it. Not in my plan. There was no traffic. I
prayed. That road came to a "T" so I took a right and I followed it vaguely keeping
track of my direction and position relative to the main road. I prayed.
Lost in prayer. After a short while that road ended at an overgrown area and I realized that I would have
to take another right, cross a grassy section, a few office building parking
lots and go over a small hill in order to intersect the main road that I
believed was on the other side of that hill. I had stopped praying.
I was loose and warmed up now
and the off-road jogging was invigorating. I noted one or two cars parked in
the lot – their early bird occupants dozing, reading their tablets, buried in their smart phones or listening to “whatever”
through earbuds while drinking their beverage of choice. Then I was climbing that
hill that now seemed a little steeper than I had thought it might be. I was
wondering how close I would be to the main road when I came to the top of that hill when something suddenly erupted into the air right in front of me!
A big bird! And I mean BIG! A wing
span as large as my outstretched arms. I thought I was being attacked and
cowered back then realized that the bird was launching almost straight up
pumping hard with its wings. Fifty feet or so into the air a feather separated from
the beast and appeared to levitate in mid air as its owner, hesitating for a
split second, continued to rise. The feather just floated there as if attached
to a string. I think both myself and the bird (a hawk?) were watching that
feather. I wanted that feather.
It occurred to me that maybe the
bird wanted to reclaim its feather and would fight me for it. But before long
it flew off a little way and began to soar over an overgrown pasture-like field.
After a mesmerizing while the feather finally floated down and landed at my feet. I picked it up
and marveled at its beauty while before me its owner did undulating figure-eights
around the trees that dotted that pristine pasture-like field. Just then, the sun peaked
over another distant hill as it rose and a peace that surpasses understanding
came over me. To my back an industrial park; before me a moment of creation
orchestrated to perfection with me in mind. Not one word.
Later that week in a still
moment I received three words – THIS IS IT.
The feather - in my travel Bible
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
All the
best!
Bill