Finally getting around to recapping a few thoughts from the weekend past. Among the treats was taking in two different Compass classes. Same lesson, same material, but two different audiences and teachers.
Saturday was the standard option: the 35+ single folk crowd. Good thing about this group is that it's one that you get to know gradually over time. That comes in real handy when you need to forgive a member for making you do the hand jive to an Israel Houghton song before the class. Kidding ... the excercise probably did me some good for all I know. As an added plus for this weekend, we'd been given an outline of the lesson the week before. That's much preferred, as it gives at least myself some time to really mull over the topic at hand. The lesson, as mentioned previously, was on the topic of "Learning to Trust God." The scripture focal point was Proverbs 3: 5-6:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
The teacher for our group Saturday was Cordell, who's right up my alley for Bible study ... heavy on the analysis, he also dives into some linguistics to really break apart the language and make it come alive in some very effective ways. Of course, I'm likely the geek of the bunch. To each their own.
The biggest chunk of thought to mull from Cordell was the difference between faith and trust. There was a too-brief reference to the difference between the Greek logos vs rehma. All in all, quite a bit for a 30-minute or so class. And yet, he actually finished early. So that was Saturday.
Sunday, I was actually trying to find out where they had moved Paul Osteen's "New Beginnings" class. I thought I'd try and squeeze that in between services since it used to be a Sunday evening class that I never made it out to. But after Joel had announced the class being moved to Sunday morning, I noticed that the class wasn't mentioned anywhere in the program. Asking one of the front desk volunteers, I was told that the class was in the 3rd floor chapel. But that class is actually the Compass class open to all adults - "New Directions." So no idea if Paul's class just folded into that one or what.
Just as well since taking in this class allowed for the unexpected first take on seeing Leo Tyler in action. I'd heard about Leo from a few others in the Koinonia group, all good things. And the guy is one heck of a preacher now that I can attest to the fact. Very lively & energetic, very engaging, never dull, and always on message. Obviously, I was impressed.
Putting my own two cents on the message at hand, I tend to focus on the last question offered on the outline: "What are some of the things that might hender us from fully trusting God?" All too often, we have this tendency to look at God's role in our lives like a Top 10 list. Actually, it might be more like a Top 2 or 3 list at times. One or two things happened that maybe we feel like God had a hand in it. And they're always good things, too. Never bad. Reading through the Book of Job recently, I think there's no better testament to how God works in our lives even through the negatives in our lives. Not just on one or two brief moments ... but constantly. Every second of the day, even when we're spacing out while watching a Friends episode for the dozenth time.
By not ackowledging God's role in our lives on an ongoing basis, we allow ourselves to be convinced that maybe - just maybe - God isn't as relevant as we're led to believe on Sundays. We start to rely more on "our own understanding," convincing ourselves more and more that we're the one driving this ship. So whenever the time comes around that maybe we really feel the need for God to act in our lives, we're dealing with a pent up cynicism about His ability to do so when we've convinced ourselves of our own role. After all, how can I trust God to give me patience to wait for the next bus when I've already managed to do just fine on my own with the incredibly redundant task of waking up in the morning? Doesn't God just deal with big things, like creating the universe? What's a 15 minute wait at the bus stop to Him?
I remember one instance that stands as a very vivid faithbuilder. I live in a part of town that has it's risks - gangs, prostitutes, you name it. Walking from the bus stop to home one night, I remember just thanking God for a great night at church and asking for Him to look over my safety as I headed home. Not a second after that thought - literally, not one full second - a police car comes driving up from behind me. I just had to stop dead in my tracks and marvel at the speed of filling that request. Now, the last leg home isn't just a hop, skip, and a jump. It'd be just as easy for that cop to just drive on by and leave the mean streets of southwest Houston wide open for me to face alone in no time. But as that policeman got a bit down the road, he stopped and turned around. It seemed there was a car parked on the other side of the street that he wanted to flash a light on to make sure nothing was going on that shouldn't be. So not only did he backtrack over that street, but he did so very slowly and deliberately, making sure that not only did I get one ounce of prevention by his (and His) presence, but I got a second dose as well. I'm pretty sure I let out a slight laugh of giddyness over that impressive display of God's favor. But that moment serves what I think is an important reminder for something else - God is in the little places of our lives just as He's in the big places of our lives. So yeah ... trust Him.
Coincidentally, I made a note to remind myself of that story by the time I got to the keyboard after Saturday's class. Maybe that lesson has a bit to play in my appreciation of Aimee's performance of "Why Not Trust God Again" over the weekend. An important part of that title is the last word - "again." Not trusting God isn't just something that nonbelievers do. It's something that even us churchgoing, upright, proud Christians do from time to time - or even a lot of the time. At some point along the way for me, I don't think that trust was ever really built up. Not for lack of faith or lack of belief. Just from a lack of knowing that it was there for the taking; that it wasn't something just reseved for the big places of my life. It's there constantly ... even in the little places.
