*This is the first in a series of letters that I can imagine
God writing to me. It’s fictional. I made it up.
But the sentiment expresses my thoughts.
Dear Weston,
I know that you’ve been going through times of doubt and
questioning your beliefs. Can you think
and analyze your way out of the rut you’ve recently been stumbling into? Yes, but know that I’ve been walking beside
you all along, just like that Footprints poem illustrates. (It’s actually a personal favorite of mine as
well.) Not only have I been there, but I
write this in order to make you aware of how I’ve been speaking to you in an
effort to increase your faith.
Remember Pastor Benjamin’s testimony from Guatemala? It was only about a week and a half ago, but
I recall that your last blog pointed out that you are a world away right
now. Remember how radical his
transformation was, going from a life of darkness to the light almost
immediately. Weston, it’s taken you
years and years to learn to watch your tongue, yet he changed virtually
overnight. You think that was merely his
will power?
What about Kathryn last month who told you that after you
and the team prayed for her, the desire and cravings she had for alcohol for
years was suddenly gone? You think she
was exaggerating?
Then how about Troy and Diane, the couple from Southern
California who are taking their three kids ages nine, eleven, and thirteen
around the world for ten months? Did you
think it was coincidence that they were led to go to Nicaragua for four months
even though they didn’t have any contacts, yet they ended up a block away from
the Adventures in Missions staff office in Granada? They are living examples of a family that
prioritizes a relationship with me and walks in faith. It was a tad difficult to arrange for them to
meet Kristen, who is going on the January World Race, has a relationship with
your small circle of contacts in a city hours away from Granada, met Troy and
Diane earlier that month, and arrange for them to come up for the one and only
day you went to the other village they were staying at. I’m kidding, it wasn’t hard at all,
especially when my children are walking in obedience and faith.
Oh, there was Friday night as well when your World Race
teammates each shared an example of when God spoke to them. Still contemplating the possibilities of all
of this being coincidence?
My servants, Tommy and Linda, are the missionaries I’ve put
you and your team with for a reason. Did
you hear their testimonies the other day?
You were the only one in the room, so I hope you were listening. Tommy going from a life of worldly pleasures
to playing gospel-songs with a guitar in a grocery store in about a month. Admittedly, that was a good one even I
enjoyed seeing play out.
And because your mind is more feeble and apt to forget than
you would like to admit, I put down some more stories in my best-selling
book. Check ‘em out.
So Weston, trust me.
Know that I am good. Know that I
am real, and even if I haven’t touched you in a way you believe is necessary to
deepen your faith, believe me that I know what I am doing. How much greater is your faith if you walk
without seeing? I might ask you to do
things that seem illogical, but remember that you’re in a safe place. A time in your life where I want you to be
stretched, because I know that it will allow you to see how great I am and how “small”
you are. And when you do step out in
faith, don’t act too surprised when the Holy Spirit inside of you shows up.
In
My Son,
God
PS: In regards to the
short joke, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
