Fresh Words

Last night I spent some time watching various news channels and came to realize how two vastly different realities were being presented. Not just angles or bias or spin, but diametrically opposed worldviews. Yet this is not really news, especially after such a slugfest campaign year.

Still it felt distressing—hateful words, violent outbursts, spreading strife, and misrepresenting facts. It creates angst…the way a child might feel when parents continually yell at each other without any resolution. Honest discourse and debate seem like a thing of the past.

My stomach churned.

So I took it to my Father. “God, I need to know what You think.” And in a matter of moments, He gave me three words.

PORTEND –a sign or a warning that something momentous or calamitous is likely to happen. Our country and the world are in a time of upheaval – ISIS, North Korea, failed nation states, famine, drought, the stock market bubble, Iran’s nuclear development—one could stay stressed over any number of things.

But what was God point of view? It came as the second word:

PREVAIL – proving to be more powerful than opposing forces. I took this to mean that despite the human condition, the kingdom of God will prevail.

And finally, He said a word that I didn’t know. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if it was a word. I especially love that part, because it goes around my logical mind. I grabbed the dictionary. The third word gave closure:

PRESCIENT – means having knowledge of events before they take place. In other words, a reminder of God’s sovereignty…

“Um, Susan, I got this.”

He could’ve led me to the Scripture that says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

He could’ve reminded me of His omniscience and omnipotence through a song like, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God…

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.

Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He.

Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same,

And He must win the battle…

He could’ve illustrated His sovereign hand in a great story such as Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand.

But something entirely remarkable happens if God says something to you in a personal way when you ask Him directly.

Fresh words from God change everything.

Imagine that your mother died when you were very young, and all you had in remembrance of her was a few letters, pictures, maybe a tattered old diary or better yet—a few film clips. You’d experience to some degree her deeper thoughts, her longings, her smile, her style of clothes, or the way she crinkled her nose when she wanted to tease. But there’d be limits because she would be, well—gone.

Now ponder how different it would be—

…if you could lay your head against her chest

…if together you could have a real conversation

…if you could take your heartaches and questions to her

…if you knew she would help guide, instruct, and comfort you in your challenges

…if she could somehow, just somehow, be present in your life.

Of course people dabble in the occult through séances or mediums because their longing for a deceased loved one is so overpowering. But that’s deception, and it’s never the right choice.

Still, think how this example applies to God.

–He left us His “letters” and “a diary” of sorts in the written Word.

–We can imagine what Jesus might’ve looked like, or sounded like, and the expressions on His face through movies or illustrated books.

–We can ponder the depths of God’s mysterious ways through great thinkers, writers, and teachers.

But NONE of that matches a real encounter with God. We can have all the right ingredients, but our cake isn’t baked until we experience God for ourselves.

So God came to me one ordinary morning and spoke right into my fretful heart in a brand new, fresh-out-of-the-oven way to say that He’s still sovereign over all things, no matter what it looks like here. And peace returned to me.

The difference is sublime.