“Finding ‘God’ four times in the Brig”

Last week, an inmate (R) was eager to share with us all a recent account of an incident in his pod. R shared that he was doing a crossword puzzle when a conversation was struck with a god-skeptic. Basically, the skeptic told R that he wanted tangible, visible proof from God that He exists. You know, that old, “God, if You’re real, give me a sign,” deal. After going back and forth for a while, R finally asked the skeptic, “What would it take for you to believe? What would satisfy you?” The skeptic didn’t really know, so R told him to close his eyes and imagine that he’s standing on a beach and the ocean surf is right at his toe-tips. R told him, “Now, imagine the ocean parting in two, creating walls you could walk through on completely dry ground.” R then asked, “Would you believe in God then?” The skeptic said, “No. Because if that happened there would have to be a scientific explanation.” The skeptic went on to say that it would have to be something very personal. “Like what?” R asked. The guy said, “If God would stop the moon’s orbit, and then make it orbit in the opposite direction.” (Lol!) R told him, “That’s not personal. Everyone would see that. You’re just being difficult.”

R was about to move on, but he emphasized to the guy that God really loves him and will always pursue him. It was at this point that R looked down at his crossword puzzle and noticed the word ‘God’ among the mix of letters. “Look! God is right here trying to get your attention.” R showed him and the skeptic said, “That’s just a coincidence.” R looks at the puzzle again and “Bam!” he finds a second ‘God’. Skepti-boy says, “That’s not unlikely among all those letters.” Stepping out on faith, R asks him, “Will you believe if I find ‘God’ a third time?” Skepti-boy says it’s highly unlikely to find ‘God’ again, but possible. Bam! There ‘God’ is a third time! R showed him and asked, “Believe yet?” Skepti-boy is a little rattled but unmoved. With increasing boldness and faith, R asks him, “Will you believe God is trying to get your attention if I look and find ‘God’ a fourth time?!!” Skepti-boy doesn’t say a thing. R looks at the puzzle again and immediately sees ‘God’ for the fourth time. He shows Skepti-boy, who is mildly stunned and mute. (Lol!)

Two men, two different experiences. R, trusting in God and exercising faith, credits God for providing in that moment, is now full. Skepti-boy, cynical and obstinate and not really looking for God, remains empty. Would that the skeptic be more like Naaman, the Syrian army Commander, humble himself, heed the advice of people around him, and receive from the Lord! (2Kg 5:1-14) Too many today, like Skepti-boy, are looking for God to do the  major, while He is speaking through the  minor. (2Kg 5:13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!'”)

Earlier this week, I heard Dr. Ravi Zacharias posit, “When you have lost your sense of the greatness and the mightiness of God, and all of His beautiful creation, two things are bound to happen. 1) You will lose your sense of gratitude, and 2) You will lose the sense of the miraculous.” Increasingly today, as people flippantly dismiss the concept of God, they unknowingly are leaving themselves emptier than before… and alone to define their meaning, dignity, identity, and value. Alone in our finite, fallen capacity! Just how wondrous, appealing, and beautiful can these conclusions and interpretations of life be? The moment we reject God or take Him out of our lives, marriages, homes, and societies, we have to attempt to be god. And how’s that working out for us?!!

Dr. Ravi succinctly stated, “The older you get the more it takes to fill your heart with wonder, and only God is big enough to do that.” Remarkable! As children, every little thing is wondrous and fascinating. Because everything is new! But as we get older, the glitter wears off, the mystery is lost, and an emptiness settles in. From the  Material  (smartphones, cars, homes, jewelry, money), to  Marriages  (relationships, romance, sxx), to our  Messiahs(religions, rules, and routines), we over-indulge and/or anesthetize our hearts into weary, calloused, hopeless, and cynical beings. G. K. Chesterton said, “Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure.”

Simply… we need God. Acts 17:28 reads, “It’s in Him that we live and move and have our being.” (Real talk, people without God are miserable. Hint: Even many Christians are miserable because they don’t really have Him. Yikes!) Without the mystery and vastness of an all-loving, all-powerful God, we lose our sense of identity and purpose. Acts 17:26-27 says, “From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and He determined their boundaries. (vs.27) His purpose was for the nations to  SEEK  God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and  FINDHim – though He is not far from any one of us.” (Emphasis mine)

Only God is big enough to fill our hearts with wonder. Things we can figure out and explain lose their luster. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” Many times in our walk with Christ, we get lost in our smaller stories and we can go through droughts, of sorts. However, things that fill my heart and desperately remind me of the bigger story are ponderings of:

a. The baby born in Bethlehem was God made man! (Wuh??? How? Why?)
b. The Atonement? (How can a man crucified on a tree some two-thousand years ago affect me and benefit me today?!!)
c. The burial of Christ? (How can God die?!! What can kill God?!!)
d. The Resurrection? (Why? How? It doesn’t seem real!)
e. His Second Coming? (Jesus said He’s coming back! That’s something to hold on to!)
f. I’m promised eternal life?!! (I’m not going to die??? I don’t deserve this!)
g. A reunion with loved ones? (I have hope!)
h. I’m gonna see the Lord face-to-face??? (He wants to see me? I am not worthy. I often think it’s easier for me to try to hide from Him.)
i. God promised to wipe away every tear? (Yes! I hold on to this!)
j. God showed his love for me in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me? (Shaking my head… no, just no.)

Here’s your  wonder!

Sometimes I feel like Job after he’s been questioned by God’s fire! Job 42:1-3: Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions My wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I — and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.” Dr. Ravi’s words bear repeating. “The older you get the more it takes to fill your heart with wonder, and only God is big enough to do that.” (Sigh)

As we closed that night at the Brig, R hugged me and confessed, “Six months ago, I never would’ve had this conversation with that skeptic because I wasn’t equipped. Your classes and discipling have brought me here.” (Lump in my throat at the privilege of serving Christ and seeing Kingdom fruit.) R said, “Thanks for letting me share this story.” I told him, “This is not a story. This is a testimony… and, for stepping out in faith, it’s your testimony.”

In  closing, we need your help. Being full-time missionaries in Japan is physically and spiritually demanding, and financially expensive.  We’re genuinely about The Father’s Business, but we simply cannot fulfill these ministries without financial support. Please consider partnering with us through financial gifts and offerings. Donations can be made online at  CinA