Isn’t it tempting to think of the Future “as a promised land which only favored heroes attain” as Screwtape instructed Wormwood to tell his human “patient” in CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters?  Why is it such a struggle to acknowledge that I myself am not static, but am on a journey that will have a destination?  Do I believe that the choices I make today actually matter? It’s so much easier to live with only the comfort of today in mind, ignoring the future, avoiding unpleasantness and reacting to difficulty, pain or unwanted change with fear or anger. Or when we do contemplate the future, to see it as an uncertain place that we have to navigate alone.
 
At January’s Calling Retreat Gary Barkalow reminded us that we are all “between touches.” Like the blind man who saw dim, blurry people who looked like trees after Jesus first touched his eyes and needed a second touch to fully restore his sight, we have been touched by Jesus and invited into fellowship with Him.  We may have experienced some new clarity, healing and direction in our lives as we experienced His touch on us.  But we need more; His touch on a life isn’t a one-time thing.  The picture isn’t as sharply focused yet as it will be.  The journey of discovering who He created us to be and living into the role he calls us to play in His Kingdom is an ever-increasing one.
 
“The realization of knowing our calling, glory, splendor and becoming the person who can carry it well is realized in a journey, a pilgrimage” (Gary Barkalow).
 
Of course, the problem is that along the journey when we find a comfortable resting place we want to settle down and treat it as the end destination.  When it’s time to move on and journey further, we don’t always want to.  In order to overcome our inertia God often has to use touches that don’t feel very gentle in the moment.  To get us moving toward the next stage of our journey God will:
 
 * Disrupt our life/disrupt our story
 * Dismantle the things that we have created/constructed to make life work without God and without pain
 * Rebuild and restore
 
The test, of course, is to see the redemptive hand of God in these disruptive, uncomfortable and often painful things and “to believe that God knows what He is after.”
 
It is in this crucible that we become who we were created to be.  It is here that we discover thenew name that God has given us.  Saul is knocked off his horse, struck blind, and becomes the apostle Paul.  Abram is called to leave home and follow God into the unknown, and becomes Abraham.  Jacob wrestles with God and walks with a limp for the rest of his life, but becomes Israel.  Who are you becoming?  Do you believe God has “a white stone with a new name written on it” for you?


Psalm 84:5-6
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.  As they pass through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs;

John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
 
Questions we are exploring this week:

1)      What amount of clarity do you have regarding who God made you to be?  Do you believe God has more to show you?  Are you willing to go on a journey with Him to discover it?

2)      What does it look like to be a man who not only realizes the glory God has bestowed upon him, but also has developed into the kind of person who can carry and wield that glory well?  Do you see the glory God has bestowed on your life?  Where are you vulnerable, through the lies of the enemy or your own sin or lack of full maturity, to mishandling your glory?  Have you given Jesus the permission to work in this area of your life and train you to handle your glory wisely and well?
 
3)       If you have ever mishandled your glory, has the enemy tried to use that painful experience to shut you down, create shame and convince you that what you thought was your glory is actually dangerous, bad or never to be trusted?  Are you willing to invite Jesus into that situation also, and ask his guidance as you seek to wisely wield the weight of what he has entrusted you with rather than hide it?

4)      Where in your life has it felt like things were being disrupted or dismantled?  Do you believe God had something for you in the midst of those circumstances?
 
5)         If you are in the middle of a disrupting or dismantling time, are you willing to: accept that God has either purposed or allowed these circumstances; believe that they contain an invitation to journey with Him; and will you trust that God knows what He is after?

Here’s to believing that God knows what He is after.  May you go with God.

The Piercing the Veil Team
 


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