God Was Very Real In That Moment
Donald Miller says that faith in God is kinda like penguin sex. It sounds weird, but it rings true in my life.
When penguins have sex, the female gets pregnant, lays an egg, and then leaves for a while. I guess she wants to party because her pregnancy is over.
Side Note: I feel like women should be able to do this too. I mean, come on… they just had another human growing inside of them for nine months; they deserve a party. Just leave the newborn with dad. Nothing could go wrong.
Now back to the penguins. So the male penguin sits on the egg like a good little daddy penguin until it is ready to hatch. Somehow, the female knows what day her egg will hatch. So, she stops the partying and heads home just in time for the egg to hatch. Something deep down knew her child was ready to be born.
So it is with my faith. Something deep within me knows The Lord is living, breathing, and working in our world. It’s just kinda hard to explain, but I’ll share some stories and things I have learned.
As I look back on my life, there are moments I can point to that God was so obviously present.
There was that one time I prayed for $2,000 so that I could start a company that would support different mission projects. I got a phone call from my dad the next day. He was moving houses and had found the stock bonds they bought me when I was a kid. I took them to the bank and they were worth $2,089. God was very real in that moment.
There was that one time I was sitting in church at 12 years old and trying not to fall asleep. I really wanted to be a “good little christian” and listen to our preacher, but IT. WAS. SO. BORING. As I sat there half asleep, I had this dreadful feeling that I was going to have to preach one day. Years later, it became very obvious that I was called to preach. God was very real in that moment.
There was that one time I woke up in the middle of the night as a 14 year-old because I was having a dream about adopting a child with Special Needs. I told my parents about it. A few years later, my mom was offered a job at a school for children with Special Needs. She now says that God had her adopt 30 kids instead of 1. God was very real in that moment.
There was that one time I witnessed a woman get hit by a car. When we realized that she was just a little shaken up, we took her inside a local Dunkin’ Donuts and bought her a cup of coffee. After sitting for a little while, I felt like I was supposed to ask her if that was the first time she had been hit by a car. It wasn’t. She had been hit by a car 40 years prior to this incident. I was able to share with her that God sees her and knows that there have been many times in life where the actions of other people have knocked her down. God wanted her to know that it was OK and it wasn’t her fault. She shared her story with us. We wept together. We prayed together. God was very real in that moment.
There was that one time I prayed for an old friend who had recently been arrested. I hadn’t seen him in 3 years. I ran into him that same day. He recently gave his life to Jesus. God was very real in that moment.
Then… There are other times.
There are the times between the signs and wonders. I call this ordinary time.
- Where is God when we are bored out of our minds at work?
- Where is God when we lose a loved one?
- Where is God in the midst of the racism and oppression we see in our world today?
- Where is God in the struggle?
I struggle with these questions often, and I don’t have all the answers. I do, however, have a few encouragements that I have learned along my journey.
When you are wondering where God is at the moment, look to the Temple.
Throughout the Old Testament, God is always making His presence known in the Temple. The temple was intricate. Everything had a place and a purpose.
At the center of the temple, there was a place called the Holy of Holies. This was the place that only the high priest could go because the Presence of God was there in it’s fullness.
In the Holy of Holies, there was something called the Ark of the Covenant. The Hebrew people believed that the Ark was God’s footstool.
In their system, God sat on His throne in heaven and placed his feet on the Ark of the Covenant. Therefore the Holy of Holies was the very place where heaven and earth touched each other.
When Jesus comes, He declares that God’s presence will live inside of all those who believe in Him. Later in the New Testament, Paul declares that our physical bodies are now the Temple of God. Our physical bodies are now the dwelling place of God Himself. Our physical bodies are now the very place where heaven and earth touch each other.
Finding the Presence of God
When you are bored at work, look within yourself to find the Presence of God. He will teach you how to remain satisfied with the ordinary time. Within yourself, you will find that God is very real.
When you are dealing with loss, look to the people who are crying with you. Look to the people who are praying with you. Look to the people who are bringing you meals. Within them, you will find that God is very real.
When you are struggling to see God in the midst of oppression, look to those who are being oppressed. Look to the strength of the mothers who are standing for the lives of their children. Look to the children who are willing to stand for other children. Look to the people who are trying to understand and listen so that they can fight, too. Look to the people who are turning the other cheek and loving the very people who are oppressing them.
Within them, you find that God is very real.
