What If?

I'm looking out the window at the rain this afternoon and wondering what Noah must have thought the first time he experienced this.  He had likely never seen rain before, and God had told him that this rain would flood the entire earth.  (I know that some of my more liberal friends don't believe that the entire earth was flooded, but the Bible says it was and you and I weren't there to prove otherwise, so we'll look at it as truth.) 

Consider the place from which Noah saw the rain.  He was in a boat.  He had never built a boat before, but there he was.  He didn't know if it would float, and this particular boat had no rudder to steer (check out the instructions God gave, there's not rudder or helm).  Of course, that was probably better for everyone since Noah was not a sailor and his sons were not navigators. 

Imagine the submission to God's command that it took for Noah to be in this position.  We talk about holiness as a consecration to God and His love and commands, and this is a clear example of such a commitment.  When God calls us today we always have a list of "what ifs" a mile long.  Whether it is finances, or resources, or support from others we always want to know "what if?"  Do we really think that the Old Testament prophets were without these same questions?  They probably asked every question that the human mind could imagine when God called them to do the improbable, and in most cases the seemingly impossible. 

Maybe if we are to see God's power at work among us we need to forget about the "what ifs" and just allow God to work.  We serve the same God who parted the seas, kept Jonah in a fish, defeated the prophets of Baal, and made the sun stand still.  Why do we feel this need to incessantly ask "what if?"  Do we really think that God is incapable of doing what He said He would do?  If scripture teaches anything, it teaches that God has given His word, and He will keep that word.  He has promised to provide, comfort, free from sin, among many other things.  It is time that we quit asking "what if" and simply trust in the one to whom we belong.

Submission

As Ezekiel stood among the exiles by the Chebar canal he saw a vision.  He saw four figures, each with four faces.  They represented the people of God - each face representing the banners of the tribes of Israel.  The details of the creatures in the vision are important, but there is one that jumped off the page at me the other day.  "And each went straight forward.  WHEREVER THE SPIRIT WOULD GO, THEY WENT, without turning as they went." (Ezekiel 1:12) 

Even in this Old Testament vision given to the disobedient captives the people of God (represented by these images) are guided by the Spirit of God.  They go where they are led by the Spirit without turning to the side, without stopping to admire and  chase the worldly things around them. 

The whole of Holy Scripture teaches submission to God's Spirit, and as Christians we claim the Bible to be authoritative.  The Word of God, inspired by His Spirit.  I believe all of those things to be true.  But if that's the case, why are we so afraid to submit to Him?  Why do we continually refuse to give up our control of things and let God be God?  This is why we don't see the holy people of God.  Holiness is God's love and His character showing through our lives.  If we do not submit to Him, how can He make us something better than we were before?  Without a full submission we simply cannot live the lives that God requires us to live.

Our refusal and fear of submission make no sense whatsoever when we really take the time to think about it.  How many people have ever had everything turn out exactly like they wanted it to?  How can that be since "we're in control?"  No matter what methods we employ to control our circumstances, things never happen like we had thought, or hoped, they would.  Yet we have convinced ourselves that we know better than God.  He created the universe, sent His son to die for us, performed all of the miracles that we read in Scripture, and we still will not submit.  The danger is this:  Historically, when the people of God refuse to submit to God they are judged.  Over and over again this has taken place.  This is the place in which we find Ezekiel.  We can keep telling ourselves that we are smart enough and powerful enough and rich enough to guide ourselves, but history has proven different since the beginning of time.  If we are ever going to see a revival of holiness within the church, and awakening of God's people, it will be when we learn to submit EVERYTHING to God.