Three Years Ago (2015)

“… AND WHEN I RUN, I FEEL HIS PLEASURE.”

I have made a friend on Facebook in the last few months, Anand, and he is probably one of the kindest men I have ever met. He asks me hard questions about my beliefs, about the Bible, and really challenges me to examine my faith.

Yesterday, he asked me if I could ever accept beliefs from other religions, and I gave him a short, terse answer. “I could if they lined up with the Bible.”

I have thought about this for a couple of days.

I would like to add this to my answer.

I grew up with the Bible as a church book. I never read it on my own, didn’t really care what was in it, had no concept that it held any answers to life. I always believed in God, believed what the church said about Jesus. But my life was not affected. I did what I wanted, considered myself good by standards of comparison to others.

Unlike Anand, I was not searching for God, or truth.

And yet, God called to me, and in a moment of deep need, I said, “I’m yours.”

I didn’t have the sense to examine the Bible to see if it was genuine, or translated correctly, or contradictory. It suddenly became impossible to resist. I would read it with a ravenous hunger, feeling life grow in me with every bite. I just accepted it, and it satisfied this deep longing, and led me to know the God I had never known before.

Everything began to change; the way I thought, the way I saw things, the way I spoke, the way I lived. Everything was changing. The effort wasn’t mine.

I was never diligent enough to search things out, or to be disciplined in my efforts, so honestly, I can take no credit for changes happening to me.

But this I knew.

God was indeed real.

For 37 years, I have heard challenges to the Bible, and some of them were tough.

Funny thing is, in my new life, when I have applied the knowledge that I had of the Bible to my life, it has always proved true.

Always.

One final thing:

My all time favorite quote:

When Eric Liddell’s sister asked him why he spent so much time running when he knew he was called to be a missionary,

he said, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

I have been asked many times how I can prove God exists.

When I spend my life pointing to Him, sharing my love for Him, and trying to introduce His life to those I love, I FEEL HIS PLEASURE.

I call that JOY.

Many are looking for the answer.

I wasn’t looking, but The Answer found me.

Journal • Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015, 6:48 PM CDT • 2278 S FM 2869, Hawkins, TX, United States • 88°