“There it
is… A hunger that is unstoppable, untamable. It is the hunger of a man that has
been down the road of darkness and yet here he is, pacing back and forth in a
kitchen each morning crying out to the God of gods in desperation and hope for
His hand to show up in a mighty, mighty way. Not sure that he truly believes it
all, but clinging to a hope that the God of the Bible will redeem, he seeks His
face.”
At first glance the young man appears so rough and tough with his short
black hair and rough cut beard. Outweighing me by almost 40 pounds, his size
alone seems slightly intimidating. Yet, there is something so gentle and
passionate in his approach that guards are let down, and conversation is easily
had.
Last night, we sat upon my big leather couch sipping on black
coffee from a local coffee roaster. We went back and forth on who he is and
where he came from. He is new in my life and I am anxious to know just who this
man is.
In the telling of his tale I ask, “So where is God’s place in the
midst of your story?”
Hungry for hope he confesses, “If you saw me cooking breakfast
each morning, you would think I am crazy. I walk around my kitchen talking with
God in desperation for a sign that it is truly Him…”
I pry deeper, “What is stirred in your mind and heart as you walk
in circles around your kitchen each morning, spilling out those prayers of
desperation?”
The statements that follow reveal a bent past and a hopeful
tomorrow…
“It is like God gives my family just enough to not fail, but never
enough to step forward. I just want Him to show up in a big way that I can know
that He is real…”
He says that he “accepts” the Bible, but does not know at this
point if he truly believes it.
There it is… A hunger that is unstoppable, untamable. It is the
hunger of a man that has been down the road of darkness and yet here he is,
pacing back and forth in a kitchen each morning crying out to the God of gods
in desperation and hope for His hand to show up in a mighty, mighty way. Not
sure that he truly believes it all, but clinging to a hope that the God of the
Bible will redeem, he seeks His face.
My friend, “It is with faith that we see the hand of God. There
comes a point when we are so desperate for just a glimpse of God that we
finally throw all cares, worries and doubts aside and finally “BELIEVE” that He
is going to answer. It is one thing to “accept” a truth, but an entirely
different thing to “believe” in it. When Gideon laid that fleece on his front
porch, he BELIEVED that God was going to show up by morning, and answer his
prayer. It is with faith that mountains are moved. It is with faith that the
blind will see.
It is not in seeing that we finally believe, no… It is in
believing that we will finally see.
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is confidence in what we
hope for and assurance about what
we do not see.”
As my slightly intimidating new
friend walks out the front door I leave him with this last thought…
“As you walk around your kitchen
tomorrow morning talking with God, remember..
Gideon believed.