Years ago I read a book that had as the title what I’ve titled this blog entry; “What God Wants to Know”. That was an interesting question for me to ponder as a young pastor who was trying to determine what God wanted from me personally. I understood that the Lord wanted my life to be fully surrendered, He wanted my service and devotion; that God wanted me to be faithful vocationally as a pastor. Yet as I read that book with each chapter featuring a question posed by God in Scripture, I sensed God also wanted to know where my heart was….what really mattered to me…what motivated and animated me.
Here are a few of the questions that were explored in the book:
-“Where are you?” Asked to Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis.
-“Where is your brother?” Asked to Cain in the book of Genesis
-“What is in your hand?” Asked to Moses in the book of Exodus.
“Who will go for us? Asked to Isaiah in the book of Isaiah.
Questions that Jesus posed:
-“Do you want to be made well?” “Who do you say that I am?”
-“What is your name?” “Why are you so afraid?”
Of course there are other questions found in the Bible, but you get the picture. My initial response when considering these questions was to wonder why an all-knowing (omniscient) God would need to ask any question at all. If He is in fact omniscient, doesn’t God already have the answer to any question or dilemma that might exist in heaven or on earth? Like then, I do believe now that God does have all the answers, which leads me to conclude that He must ask the questions for our benefit. He asks us, for example, why we’re afraid in order that we might think about the nature of our fear and deal with it. Or God might ask who we say that He is, again for example, so that we might spend time meditating on the nature and majesty of the Almighty.
During the season of Lent (40 days of preparation for the celebration of Easter) many followers of Christ Jesus will give up a certain type of food or drink, or perhaps will give up an activity that’s a part of their daily routine. Historically, the act of “giving up” has encouraged the faithful to pray or meditate on the Easter story each time the person consciously chooses not to partake of that food or activity, etc.. In past years during Lent I’ve given up certain things, such as a daily bagel in 2011; or have taken on a particular discipline for the season, such as getting up 15 minutes early for prayer in 2012. This year I’m going to spend my devotional time each day considering the questions God asks of me. Included in that exercise I’ll be asking what God wants from me as His disciple. My hunch is that considering these questions will lead to a deeper understanding of the nature of God and the life to which I’m called.
So here’s an idea. If you’re not settled on a Lenten routine this year (it’s getting late!), how about joining with me in considering what God wants to know from you, and what He wants of you? My plan is to structure this activity around studying some of the questions mentioned earlier in this blog. After meditating on the scripture text each morning, I’ll pray that God gives me a sense of how that question posed 1000’s of years ago speaks into my life today. My prayer is that the Lord will begin to clarify what it is that He wants from me, and awaken me to a deeper experience of His grace and peace.
The sermon this week at Mallard Creek deals with the 1st question of my Lenten observance; “Ask! What shall I give to you?” This is what God spoke to Solomon, the young King of Israel, as he was embarking on his reign. Essentially God was asking the king what he wanted from God’s hand. Thus far this week I’m enjoying the study of that text, in particular due to the fact that the congregation is having two town hall style meetings on Sunday. The meetings are with the Batten Company (our chosen design-build firm) for the purpose of helping fine tune our understanding of God’s vision for the ministry of this congregation, and the 1st step in developing a comprehensive plan for campus on Mallard Creek Church Road.
If you wish to join with me this Lent, here’s the study I’ll be following:
Week 1: “What shall I give to you?” 1Kings 3: 4-15
Week 2: “Where are you?” Genesis 3: 1-13
Week 3: “What is your name?” Mark 5 1-17
Week 4: “Why are you so afraid?” Mark 4: 35-41
Week 5: “Do you want to be well?” John 5: 1-15
Week 6: “Who do you say that I am?” Mark 8: 27-30
My prayer is that God will be at work in our lives this Lent as we read each of these passages for seven days.
Grace to you,
SEB
shawnedwinbarkley 