Imagine yourself deep in thought. And your thoughts seem to transport you out of your body and into the air. Then, in the blink of an eye, you realize you’re sitting in a wifi café, in the middle of a conversation with a gray-haired stranger. And the gray-haired stranger asks…
“Did you think you would get here in the blink of an eye?”
And you have no idea what the stranger is talking about. Because you’re unsure of the whole scene. Questions pop into your brain like champagne bubbles. Who IS this stranger? Where IS this place? And how DID I get here? And was it really in the blink of an eye?
Well, maybe you blinked while you were deep in thought.
Because one second you’re just peacefully pondering your life. And the next you’re confronted by someone you don’t recognize. In a place you’ve never seen before.
But, as your dazed and confused mind tries to sort things out, the stranger says, “Bet you never thought you’d be here did you? And I bet you’re probably wondering where here is and how you got here. Am I right?”
Before you can even form your lips to speak the first word of your reply, the stranger says, “Of course you’re wondering where you are and how you got here. Everybody wonders that when they first get here. And I suppose it’s only natural. Because you never pictured yourself in a place like this.”
And, with that last sentence, the stranger’s hand motions around the dark gray walls. That’s when you notice.
There’s no art on the walls.
And no music in the background.
In fact, except for the stranger and the black table between you, there’s nothing else in the room.
So, you turn back to the stranger to ask what’s going on.
But once again, before you can form the words, you hear these words,
“You should go back while you still can.”
Then, your words come gushing out without you even having to think them, “Go back while I still can?! What does that mean? Go back where? I was sitting at home, thinking, and not bothering anybody. Then, suddenly I was here, listening to you ask me senseless questions. In a room that doesn’t make any sense! And why did you say while I still can?”
The stranger nods, ever so slightly, and then you notice the eyes. There’s something about the eyes. Something terrifyingly familiar about the eyes.
And then it dawns on you.
The.
Stranger’s.
Eyes.
Are.
YOURS!
You realize you’re staring directly into your own eyes, into your own future.
And the future feels full of fear.
Then, the stranger (who starts to look more and more like an old version of YOU) says, “You should know. You don’t actually have to be here. In fact, you could leave this place just as fast as you got here. Yeah, you could be gone in the blink of an eye.”
And you answer, “Really? How?”
And you (uh, I mean the stranger…no, it IS you) answer back:
“Close your eyes, humble your heart, and pray.
Then, before you even have a chance to say anything else, you suddenly open your eyes. And you’re right back in your comfy chair. But with one nagging question in your head.
“Humble my heart and pray to who?” (even though you know it should be whom)
Well, my recommendation is you pray to the one, true, living, loving Creator of Heaven and Earth. Because all other prayers to all false gods are just whispers in the wind. Signifying nothin. Set aside a few minutes to get back deep into thought. And meditate on something like this:
Instead
Don’t try to pray away all the pain.
You could be disappointed, disillusioned, disenchanted.
Don’t ask God to save you from the hurt.
You could live to see that the prayer has not been granted.
Instead, give thanks for all His love.
Instead, be glad for all He’s done.
Our sin could torture us forever.
Instead, He gave His only Son.
Don’t be so quick to ask for an end
To the hard times, rocky roads, and fire and rain.
Don’t cry out for a wonderful sign
And when it doesn’t appear, throw your hands up in vain.
Instead, give thanks for all His love.
Instead, be glad for all He’s done.
Our sin could torture us forever.
Instead, He gave His only Son.
There will be trials…and tribulation,
In every life…in every nation.
You could give up…but bow your head
And thank your loving Lord instead.
© 2010
Then, get yourself a Bible and read Paul’s letters. They’re known as the Grace “books” of the Bible from Romans to Philemon. And that will get you pointed in the right direction.
Stay tuned,
