Clarity - It's Not Just for Diamonds!

When we go to the pool, or the lake, or even consider the crashing surf on the beach, it’s always that first step into the water – that first cold touch – that forces us to muster the gumption to follow through with it. I didn’t notice that with my steps into the Jordan. No freezing twinge, no quick touch with the big toe. I was just suddenly in, standing among the current and undertow, perfectly at ease with the water rushing around my ankles...my knees.

It’s about focus and where our eyes are set. Sure, I could be concerned with the current and the constantly shifting silt bed under my feet, challenging me to readjust my footing. However, even in these conditions, Christ has built a strong foundation and if we stand on that, regardless of circumstances, our focus can be where it needs to be: away from our problems and seeking God instead.

This week, I’ve been silent. I’ve been watching and listening. I’ve been pondering the ways of God. I’ve looked upon God’s glory with awe and praise and my heart grew heavy with the knowledge that there are many in this world who are lost and don’t look upon the same mysterious wonders with admiration for a Creator who loves them personally. It added to the dislocated heart God is developing within me and though it aches, it aches for God’s power to use me as His instrument. It’s an amazing thing, having a dislocated heart. Through quiet contemplation and self-examination, I’ve come to the conclusion that my life is pretty good. For the first time, I’m at a place of contentment – in the physical sense. My family and I have recently been blessed with a house that we are getting to know and become settled. The temperatures are finally starting to drop and seem much more pleasant. The relationship with my wife continues to blossom more beautifully than any flower and our kids are always a blessing (even in the time-out times). Yet I’m working on a dislocated heart.

God has transformed me in a very brief period of time and I am so grateful. As a kid, I would flip through the Sears catalog and circle all the things I wanted. Little did I know, that simple act would set a precedent in my life. I graduated to a broader scope of catalogs. My list grew longer (and more expensive). Before I knew it, I was standing in a lake brimming with 40 years of dreams and things I wanted – most of them I never attained. When I came to the banks of the Jordan, God told me I couldn’t take this stuff with me...I’d surely drown. To my utter surprise and delight, I wanted to cross that river so badly, I left all that stuff where it lay and took the step.

Freedom!

I realized that the more stuff we have, the more it blocks our vision of God. More importantly, it blocks God’s vision for our lives. The stuff, whether in possession of or aspiring to get, clutters our heart. So without the lists and the dreams, I have greater clarity. I’ve been able to see God and He is so beautiful!

  His work is out there, waiting to be accomplished.

                     For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He

                     may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

                                                                                 - 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB)

The question is, do we have hearts that are completely His, or do they belong to temporal things that, in the end, mean nothing? When He passes by, will He see a willing servant or will there be a massive wall of junk blocking His view of us?

In knee deep, I already feel the water washing these things away and I am grateful. My life is a good one right now and although I might take a step that challenges my footing, my focus is on the Lord. I woke up this morning before my alarm, and from my heart I started singing How Great Thou Art. It was a wonderful time of praise and a great way to kick off the end of the work week.

Having greater focus reveals that God is everywhere – not that He hasn’t been – it just tends to remove those things that have limited our sight. He is in the purple of lavender fields and African violets. He is in the blue of the skies above and the depths of the sea. He is in the red that August burns.

My oldest son has lately been on my heart much more than normal. Forsaking his belief in the God of his father, he steps blindly into his own role of father. My attempts to reach him have, thus far, gone unheeded and I’ve had no choice but to lay him at God’s feet and trust the Lord with his care. God, so far, has chosen to reveal Himself in music. I’m not surprised by this, as we both have a great appreciation for music – one of the few ways in which we can communicate. Sometimes our definition of music is very different and this is one of those times. August Burns Red is a band whose music is heavier than any metal I’ve heard before. If it wasn’t for an awesome drumming core, it would be nothing more than noise to me. But to my son it is a symphony. Beyond the heavy guitar riffs and labored singing, the heart of their lyrics reveals the Gospel and our dependence on God.  Had I not received God’s grace through clarity, I probably would have argued this point until I was blue in the face. But the fact is, God is everywhere. His Message will come through whatever channel He chooses.

                          I'd like to thank Patrick, our worship leader, for unintentionally

                                leading me to August Burns Red.

As I go into the weekend, looking forward to time spent with my family, I continue to ask God to keep working on my dislocated heart. Whether it is with a prodigal son only a few miles away or with a lost generation in Norway, consumed by the Death Metal movement and Satanism, my dissatisfaction with the status quo needs to burn brightly and my passion to help them find their way to a Father that loves them deeply needs to burn even brighter.