“Does God ever ask you to do crazy things you don’t understand?”
“Yes.”
“Do you always get the answer as to why He asks?”
“No. Sometimes you know right away. Sometimes it takes a really long time to know. And sometimes it’s just about an act of obedience and you never know.”
I had this conversation with my team leader, Matthew, this evening on the bus home from our Good Friday service. At the end of the service, Pastor Scott (of International Baptist Church – Sofia) asked everyone to leave silently so that those who wanted to stay and pray could have that opportunity. I got up, picked up my things, and very clearly heard God say, “Sit back down.”
I stood still for a moment, thinking I might have imagined it. Slowly, I lowered back into a seat. Then, God said, “Now stay there.”
I did not have anything in particular I felt I needed to pray for. There were others in the room, but I did not feel called to approach them, either. Every time I thought about moving, I felt the reassurance of “Sit down and don’t move” sweep over me.
So I sat. I prayed a little. I flipped through a Bible I found on a chair in front of me. I watched people enter and leave the room, all the while knowing I was to stay squarely planted in that chair. I kept waiting for the big reveal… the conclusion to this command.
And then He said, “Okay. You can leave.”
What? Why have I been sitting here for 20 minutes, God? Why did you want me in this chair? Am I completely crazy?
But I know He told me to sit still, and I may never know why.
God is funny that way, I guess. He asks us to trust Him. He asks us to listen. I could have gotten up out of that chair and left and never known the difference. But I stayed, and have an overwhelming sense of peace for it. For sitting in a chair.
He asks us to do crazy things. He asks us to do simple things. He asks us to do things that seem daunting and impossible. He asks us to do things we absolutely do not want to do. And sometimes He asks us to sit in a chair.
And other times He asks, “Go to the cross.” He asked His son to go. He knew there was no other way to reconcile us to Him. He knew that the only way to be reunited with His beloved was to turn His back on Jesus in a moment of absolute agony. He asked Jesus to give EVERYTHING.
And Jesus said yes. What if He hadn’t? I’m sure we would know the difference. I’m so thankful He said yes. I cannot put it into words how immensely and eternally grateful I am that Jesus said yes to something hard, to something daunting, to something that He was terrified to face. Because of His obedience, I get to experience the sweet love of God and hear when He asks me to do crazy things like sit in a chair. I get to experience His grace and faithfulness. I get to be His child and His love.
So I will sit in chairs and I will say yes and I will trust blindly. Because Jesus did. And I want to look more like Him.
