Are you listening?

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Margaret

A week ago my sister and I rented a 2007 movie, “August Rush,” the story of a newborn whose mother has been told he died at birth. After being raised in an orphanage, the boy runs away at the age of 11, looking for his parents.

Young Evan hears music in everything: rustling trees, rippling streams, honking horns, subway trains. He lands in the center of New York City but has no fear, finding joy in the many new sounds.

Befriending a boy who plays guitar in the park for donations, Evan follows him “home” to an abandoned old theater. Many orphans live together there under the questionable leadership of a Robin Williams character, Wizard, who lives off the money his young musicians bring to him. He’s a harmful father figure who sometimes abuses his young charges, but when he learns of Evan’s musical talent, he sees his own financial success.

One day Wizard and Evan (now stage-named August Rush) have a serious talk about the music around them. Evan says, “And only some of us can hear it?”

The irresponsible Wizard has a burst of wisdom and says, “Only some of us are listening.”

During the movie my mind jumped immediately from listening for music to listening for God. Many people say they’ve never heard God’s “voice”, even in their heads. They pray about problems but say the answers don’t come. Could it be, as Wizard puts it, that they aren’t listening?

What does it take to effectively listen to God? In my experience, 90% of successfully hearing him is being confident he’s going to say something. Bringing a request without expecting a response is like questioning a friend, then walking away before she answers. If we think, “Surely God won’t talk to li’l ole me,” then maybe he won’t.

I can also read the Bible (his words), yet fail to be in touch with him because I’m not eager to hear his opinion. Maybe we’re afraid he’ll say what we don’t want to hear, so we’d rather not listen. We need to first figure out if he is really relational one-on-one and then decide if we want that relationship. If we do, we can be confident this God of love will share himself with us.

I remember Jill Briscoe describing a time of family turmoil when God was leading her husband to take a pastorate in the States. Jill and her three children were deeply rooted in Britain and hadn’t heard the same message, so she went to God directly.

“If you want me to leave England, please let me know.” God’s definitive answer came in John 21:15:

“Feed my lambs.”

Jill heard him say, “Focus on caring for your children. You can do that in the States just as well as in England.”

And they moved.

Young Evan connected with music as a powerful language. But hearing from God trumps music any day, unless, of course, he uses music to communicate.

For me, though, hearing from God has always been music to my ears.

[Jesus] called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Luke 8:8b)

Shaken Up

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Margaret

What would it be like to live through a tornado? In checking on Joplin, Missouri today, I listened to several testimonies on the internet. As one man told his story, lightning sparked in the background, and he flinched. Fear still lingered.

A doctor in scrubs, standing in front of the destroyed hospital, wiped a tear and said, “Everybody in town is going to personally know someone who’s died in this tornado.”

But saddest of all was the man stopped by a reporter as he picked through the pile of boards that had been his home. The reporter asked, “Have you been able to find everyone?”

The man held up both hands and said, “I just need gloves. I can’t find gloves. How can I dig without gloves?”

Sunday’s storm produced the deadliest single tornado in US weather history, flattening 30% of a town with 50,000 people. One man who’d lived in Joplin all his life said he had to use his GPS to figure out where he was. It located him on Main Street, but there’d been no way to tell.

How does a person endure total devastation and come out on the other side?

First, citizens band together in ways that never would happen without catastrophe. Strangers become friends, and disparities evaporate. Those of different ages, incomes, race and rank join together with a single theme: how can I help you? Willing workers from nearby towns and distant cities pour in by the hundreds to do what needs doing, and by this, victims find the courage to go on.

One seasoned rescue worker described a common response of those returning to the splintered piles that used to be their homes. “They come looking for practical things, glasses, keys, personal papers, photos. It’s a healthy sign that they’re going to make it.”

Secondly, God arrives in special ways. Because he’s in the rescue business with an emphasis on souls, he’s fully prepared for the crowds that will turn to him in desperation. His Word describes what can and can’t be shaken, and though Joplin has been badly shaken, the unshaken still remains: unfailing love, joy in being alive, peace amidst chaos, hope for the future.

And God has a full supply of those, able to meet even the biggest demand. He has already begun rebuilding lives in Joplin. He got there ahead of the Red Cross, FEMA and the governor. And when they and others have gone, he will remain.

As I watched news reports, one interviewer played a cell phone video recorded in a convenience store. As the tornado arrived, screaming intensified, people stumbling over each other. The store went dark, and everyone crowded into a food storage locker. As the tornado’s noise increased, it drowned out the screaming except for one voice, a simple prayer: “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!”

He was in the food locker, too, and after the terrifying two minutes were over, a shout went up: “Thank you Jesus!”

Not one person had been injured.

“All of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.” (Heb. 12:27)

Check the numbers.

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Margaret

Tonight my mind and heart are still at yesterday’s memorial service for Jim Rabb, the 32 year old son of good friends. Though hundreds assembled to honor his memory and encourage his brokenhearted family, the event was sorrowful.

As we waited for the service to begin, I studied the program and noticed we’d be hearing from both of Jim’s parents. His mom and I grew up together at Moody Church, and once we’d married and had families of our own, we spent summers in Michigan cottages a block apart.

Jim’s father, John, shared valiantly and effectively about the strong relationship he had with his son, but because I’m a mother like my friend Lois, I longed to know what she was thinking. Speaking at this emotionally-packed occasion would be a burdensome task, and I admired her willingness to stand in front of a microphone at all.

Lois did a beautiful job, and her words held power. She talked warmly about her son, describing daily phone chats and frequent affirmation of their love for each other, from the time he was a little boy.

Then she told a story about her favorite Scripture verse, Romans 8:28. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Through the years, the Lord has sent what she called “little hugs” through those biblical reference numbers, again and again.

For example, on New Year’s Day this year, she was luxuriating in a morning when she didn’t have to set her alarm or get up early. As she lay in bed talking to the Lord in the first moments of a new year, she turned to see what time it was. Her bedside clock said, “8:28”, a little hug from God to start off well.

Five months later, after having just heard the devastating news of her only son’s sudden death, she looked again at a clock. At that critical moment, it said, “8:28”. As her heart was racing double-time and her head pounding with an impossible reality, God gave her a firm hug and said, “Lois, you can’t see it now, but my purposes in all this are positive and far-reaching. Everything is going to turn out well.”

A mother who’s able to stand and speak to hundreds at her own child’s memorial service could only do it because God was already making good on his 8:28 promise to her.

Tonight, just before I sat down to write this post, I went to the kitchen for some iced tea. As my mind flooded with thoughts of Jim and his family, I glanced at my oven clock.