Discerning God's movement in our lives

"Seek the Lord and the strength of the Lord; seek God's presence continually" (Psalm 105:4). Psalm 105 and many passages of scripture call and challenge us constantly to look for God, to enter each day vigilantly pursuing signs of God's presence. Our tradition assures us that as we knock and ask, doors will open and responses will come.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" (Psalm 27:14). Psalm 27 and many passages of scripture call and challenge us to have confidence that God will appear and to prepare to receive God when those moments of encounter come. Our tradition assures us that God will not disappoint those who wait.

These two streams of guidance do not contradict each other, but they have distinct foci. Seeking stresses our action and intent. Waiting stresses our expectation and dependence. Both emphases contribute to a healthy life of faith, but in recent years I find myself doing a lot more waiting and far less seeking. Desire to discover where God is has diminished, as longing to follow where God leads has intensified. Think of the Hebrew slaves wandering through the wilderness following a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. When those pillars moved, they moved. The pillars found them more than they went looking for them.

During prayers I once offered a list of people and situations to God with specific requests for each. Christians always have made and received blessings from such petitions. Now, however, I find myself more reflective. For example, I utter Nancy's name and pray for God to bless her. Instead of making specific requests, I hold her name and an image of God in thought and wait for words, guidance, or insight. My prayers seem to have fewer words. Instead of more exhaustive prayers for everyone tending to a friend battling disease or heartache, I call to God as I inhale and pray that the one for whom I pray will sense God's presence as I exhale.

This shift in focus has also affected sermon writing. I have always enjoyed the process of juxtaposing a passage of scripture and its context with a contemporary situation and trying to discern where they collide, run parallel, or intersect. For much of my ministry I chose a central idea early in the process and looked for ways to develop it. Now I find myself waiting longer before determining the core of the message. Writing takes as much time as ever, but I spend more of that time pondering and waiting for a message to present itself.

This change reflects where I find myself and where I believe the church is. I cannot claim with certainty that I know where I'm going or where the church next will go. That does not trouble me because of increased confidence that I and we are being led. As we celebrate Pentecost this Sunday, you'll probably hear me declare that we are called to be disciples, followers of Jesus, and that followers may not know where they are going, but they know who leads them.

We each must discern God's movement in our lives. For now, I prefer to wait more than to seek. That means going to places where God often appears: places of need and heartache; places of hope and encouragement; places where people pray and labor together; places with doors open to those often excluded. While waiting there, we can believe that we will "see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13).

            Easter Blessings,

            LP