God Showed Up!
When does God show up? Sunrise and sunset…the flight and landing of a hummingbird…a bee pollinating a flower…the fragrance of a rose…the sound of a babbling brook…a serene walk on a hiking trail.
Where does God show up? In the emergency room waiting for the news…Over a cup of coffee while having a heartfelt conversation with a close friend…During the long drive to work…Sitting in the sanctuary hearing people praise God…at the foot of a massive oak.
Sometimes, however, the hardest part is waiting for God to show up or creating space for God to show up.
Recently Annie and I reminisced about our college days. We reflected on our time while attending Morehead State and active in the Methodist Student Center. That’s where I met Annie, and we started dating; and now 39 years later we are still a match made in heaven. God showed up and we tied the knot. The Methodist Student Center was also the place where we found God vibrant and active. Our faith was electric and spirit filled. We met people, who became close friends. They were just as excited about living out their faith in Jesus as we were. Our passion for Jesus kept growing. Our spiritual roots grew deeper because of the discipleship present and the ministries we participated in. We were spiritually challenged daily. We took risks. We learned new ways to share our faith. God showed up.
Fast forward to the present…while watching yellow finches pick thistle seed from the birdfeeder, we set on our deck sharing stories about the crazy characters we met, the strong believers who challenged us, and the funny events that kept us in stitches. Our home, 64 South Bowman, became a place where God showed up and a birth of a new possibility. We started to dream grand dreams of what tomorrow might be. I must admit, and Annie would agree, these sunset days are still quite gratifying as we journey together. God showed up.
Isaiah 25:9-10 gives witness to how God moves. “People will say, ‘Look at what’s happened! This is our God!We waited for him, and he showed up and saved us! This God, the one we waited for! Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation. God’s hand rests on this mountain!’”
Jacob had a fresh awakening when He wrestled with God (Genesis 32). Before the wrestling match, God said to go back to his hometown and make nice with his brother, Esau. When you first read the account, it sounds like a good deal. His father-in-law was driving him crazy. This self-centered father took advantage of Jacob’s generous spirit and excellent sheep herding skills. There was only one issue he had to face if he went home, the wrath of Esau. Jacob deceived his father into giving him the family blessings that Esau had the right to receive. Isacc didn’t want either son to die because of this, so he directed Jacob to leave home and find a wife in the old country. He obeyed and took his staff in one hand and the special anointing on his head.
Genesis 28:20-21 says, “Jacob made a vow. “If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I’m setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father’s house, this God will be my God. (MSG).”
Jacob prospers in the land of Laban, and when it’s time to go back home he has 11 children and four wives, plus servants and shepherds to tend his sheep and goats. However, over a 20-year span, one other thing grew stronger within him, fear. He feared Esau. This fear spilled over into his family. Jacob told story, after story how hard-nosed Esau could be. How he might slaughter every living thing, if he knew they were associated with Jacob. He poisoned the hearts and minds of his innocent family members which created an environment of mistrust and paranoia. When the family heard the footsteps of Esau and his men they feared for their lives.
Jacob may have had several good reasons to send all his valuable possessions and people around of him, but one thing overrides them all, he was scared. He feared for his life. His fear turned inward and the only one he thought to save was himself. “Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak (Genesis 28:24).”
We don’t know for sure who Jacob wrestled: God, an angel, Jesus. Maybe he wrestled with his own thoughts and fears as well as God. The result of the wrestling match was a draw and God showed up. Jacob became a new man with a new name, Israel. “…because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome (Genesis 32:28).”
He crossed the river, having overcome his fears, to walk into a new chapter of his life. “So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared (Genesis 32:30).” God showed up.
Counseling is one place where God shows up when you intentionally wrestle with all those unwanted thoughts and feelings. God will show up and your committed counselor will walk alongside on your journey to a new land of possibilities.