The God of
Understatement
by Tim
Knappenberger
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When I was
in my teens, I remember a particularly intense prayer
sessions one night. In deep adolescent anguish, I asked
God for some sign that He had a plan for my life. Through
sweat and tears, I was convinced I heard Him spiritually
answer me: "Tim, I have great
plans for you." That's it. No
visitations. No visions. Just a simple, yet powerful
thought. I have to admit, nothing visibly dramatic
changed in my life. I continued to finish my schooling,
chase girls, and go about the business of being a
teenager. Through the years, however, I have continued to
bring to mind that particular prayer session. When
discouraged, when doubting, when lost, when confused, I
still can recall that simple statement that echoed
between the canyon of my brain and soul, "Tim,
I have great plans for you."
Great plans? Maybe nothing that would sell books, but
more than I could have envisioned 25 years ago. Looking
back over the shoulder of my life, I can attest to God's
keep and care through college, graduate school, a career
in social work, a 21 year marriage, two sons, and
countless joys and sorrows mingled throughout. Given the
thousands of prayer encounters I've had with God since
then, it intrigues me that that one still stands out. Since then,
God and I have had other times of intense, angst-filled
prayer; usually during times of life-changes and
spiritual strugglings. What I tend to most recall about
them is lots of words and emotional gymnastics on my part
and simple, quiet statements on God's. "I
am with you in this." "Don't worry, what you
fear will not happen." "Remember My
faithfulness." Again, that's
it. But more importantly, THAT seems to be enough.
un·der·state
(łn“der-stāt¹) verb 1.
To state with less completeness or truth than seems
warranted by the facts. 2. To express with restraint
or lack of emphasis, especially ironically or for
rhetorical effect. The American
Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third
Edition copyright © 1992 by
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Let's
face it. When we're praying, I mean really
praying, with
all of heart, soul and mind, aren't we really looking for
God's overstatements, not His whispers? We're not
satisfied with "less
completeness than seems warranted by the facts."
Restraint? Heavens, no Lord! Restraint is the last thing
we crave. Just let 'er rip Lord, answer my plea!! We long
to see our cancer-battling loved one's platelet count
increase. We strain to hear our runaway, prodigal child's
footsteps coming through the back door. We tear through
each day's mail, hoping the check that keeps our
faltering business afloat comes tumbling out. Each one a
faith-affirming, dramatic overstatement to the longings
of our hearts and prayers.
Elijah
knew about God's overstatements. He watched in awe as God
sent down fire from heaven in response to his prayers to
consume the water-logged sacrifice on Mt. Carmel. With
God's might, he scored the biggest spiritual victory of
his day, purging Baal worship from Israel in one fell
swoop. Nothing understated here. Yet within a few short
days, Elijah was tired, discouraged, and running for his
life. Indications are he was again looking for another of
God's dramatic overstatements. What he got, however, was
a whisper:
...Then
a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and
shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not
in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but
the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake
came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after
the fire came a gentle whisper.
Like
Elijah, I prefer God's life-altering, overstated answers
to my prayers. Mountain top spiritual experiences,
whether they be on Mt. Carmel or "Mt. Timothy"
are what I crave. But like Elijah, God comes to me most
often in an understated whisper. We Oooo and Ahhh over
fire-bolt responses, but I believe God most often seeks
intimate dialogue with our hearts and spirits through His
still, small voice. The power of the message is not lost
in the absence of the dramatic. The power of the message
is found through our trust and belief in the faithfulness
of the Sender.
Listening for God's trumpeting
answers to your prayers?
Maybe you should pay more
attention to that little whisper in your ear.
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