A Voice to Remember

                                                  Based on a true story.

The question: If God is real, does He still talk to people? The answer: Read on and you tell me.

I recently had a cell phone conversation with a friend that reminded me of an experience I had twenty-two years ago this month. My friend’s father had just passed away. I remember exactly how that felt. The death of a family member is something we all endure at some point. Ironically, it can often be one of the times we get proof of God’s existence. Yes, proof.

Mike’s dad had been ill and was going down hill. The timing of his decline could not have been worse.

 

I have worked nine months on this project, and we are ready to open this weekend, Mike thought as he left the hospital. There are going to be hundreds of young people at camp.

 The combination of anger over the impending loss of your father, and the responsibility of 250 athletes coming to a Christian camp on a college campus would get to anyone, even a mature Christian man.

When you leave the hospital, knowing your dad’s battle for life is ending, raw emotion comes to the fore. I remember leaving the hospital the last time I would hear my father’s voice. I understood how Mike felt.

    

He was angrily questioning God.  Why! Why now!

On Saturday, Mike had one of those final visits. As he left, walking across the hospital parking lot alone, he heard a calming whisper. “A dozen kids will get to know me for the first time this week, and your dad will meet me face to face this week.”

Immediately a calm and peaceful feeling came over Mike. “I knew my dad was going to pass. I knew he was going to heaven.” He knew he was not alone.

Mike’s dad peacefully passed away a few days later.

“All five of us kids and my mom were at his bedside when he took his final breath on Wednesday. That voice, the Holy Spirit, gave me the power, equipped me, to minister to my family. It was the second time in my life it had happened like that.”

“When was the first time,” I asked.

“Ten years ago in July. I was laid off from my job. I had an eighteen month old, and now no job.” Again, why did it have to happen to me, he thought.

“What did you hear then, Mike?”

“The same voice said, ‘Michael, how do you think I felt when I was sacrificed for you?’ It was a voice you could never forget.” It ushers in the peace that followers of Jesus experience. It is the same peace Jesus spoke of, and the same peace Paul wrote about in his letters.

Mike had never “heard” the voice prior to becoming a Christian. But ever since he allowed Jesus into his life, he quickly recognized when God would communicate with him. Something about the sheep recognizing the voice of the shepherd, and following, knowing they are safe.

So the bottom line is this.  One of the reasons people like being a Christian is because in highly stressful times, sometimes they hear a small still voice that gives them peace in their heart. They are assured they are loved. They are assured they are not alone. They are given the strength and wisdom to minister to and help their family members in difficult times. Who wouldn’t want some of that when frustration and anger begin to take over, and true leadership is needed…servant leadership. It is one of the evidences that God is very real, once someone invites Him into their life.

A father teaches his son how to skip a rock on water.  The son teaches his son the same.  It is love in action.  But the greatest gift a parent could give a child is how to survive stressful times.  That too, is love in action.  And that, my friend, is an authentic faith.

                                   (John 14:25-27, Philippians 4:6-7)

Surviving the Blizzard

Your mission is to deliver a twofold message that will not only convince your followers that they made the right decision to follow your lead, but reassure them that it is not their fault should many choose to ignore your advice and never escape the death trap of the blizzard on the mountain.  All of your experience in trail blazing and survival goes unheeded by most of the crowd.  Some will trust your judgment.  Others will suffer, and some will die.  Even some family members of those who will follow you will be lost in the storm.  Tough decisions will be made and loved ones will be separated, possibly forever.  Survivors will need to know that they should feel no guilt, regardless of who survives, and who does not.  All will have the option to accept your solution and leadership, or reject it.  The choice is theirs.

Jesus had a similar dilemma when he spoke from a boat to his followers as they stood on the shore.  He used the analogy of a farmer spreading seed.  Some of the seed would fall on a path and be eaten up by birds before it could take root.  Some seed fell on rocky places and began to grow, but when the heat rose, they were lost because their root system was too shallow to enable them to survive.  Some seeds fell among thorny bushes that eventually overpowered the plants.  But some of the seeds fell on good soil, and a wonderful crop followed.

A follower asked Jesus what it all meant.  Jesus explained to him that while all will be given the message of salvation, only those receptive to it would accept the gift, and then understand.  And even some of those who understand it will lose their faith when Jesus’ enemies begin to persecute them.   Some will be pulled away because they choose to worry about not being popular or financially successful.  But the seeds that fall on good soil will be very fruitful.  They represent the ones who actually “hear” the message being delivered.  Why did they hear?  Because they actively were seeking God’s will. The Holy Spirit enabled them to understand.   They were receptive and trusted Jesus.

So the bottom line is this: If you are a teacher, a leader, or a even a survival specialist in a mountain blizzard, remember that not everyone is going to believe you, regardless of your credentials. 

If someone ignores God’s advice and their actions lead to hardship and despair, it is not your fault.  You did your best to guide them, and that is all you can do.  The rest is up to them, whenever they choose to have a relationship with God.  Love them.  Be there to show them how the relationship can start.  But remember, it is up to them to be receptive to His love and guidance.  Not every seed falls on good soil.  On what type of soil are you spreading your seeds? What type of soil are you?

The Parable of the Four Soils

Matthew 13: 3-8, Mark 4:4-8, Luke 8:5-8