Somebody Hears
In the movie Gettysburg based on Michael Shaara's novel The Killer Angels, a Mississippi thespian named Harrison has taken up wartime employment as a spy. This brings him to the attention of Gen. James Longstreet, who trusts him with a particularly crucial mission. Harrison complains that the worst thing about his job change is the absence of an audience. "When you do it right," he frets to Longstreet, "no one knows you are doing it. It's very hard on an actor."
Entering month six of mostly home bound unemployment following 13 years as a counselor and professional chatterbox, I feel his pain. I've developed some definition of discipline sending blogs and job applications out into cyberspace, but reactions both instant and regular are missing. This reality as the new normal made the exception of all the more sweet.
I posted a Bible-based encouragement that we should keep in mind the hidden witnesses of our actions undertaken by faith, those who may not give us a visible reaction on a daily basis. A man named Gene from Idaho liked that status, and I mentioned how much the confirmation that SOMEBODY hears meant to me. We talked about the role of writing in disciplining and chronicling our spiritual lives, and I encouraged him to take up the cyber equivalent of his pen again, irrespective of how much human approval he got in the process.
With unusual assertiveness for me, I suggested that he and I undertake a journey of mutual accountability. We could, I volunteered, go through a book of the Bible together and write our responses. At least in part, I expected Heaven to credit me for my boldness in challenging and encouraging this stranger of a few days before – without my actually having to do anything. Surely he would say no to such an unconventional proposal. He didn't. Not even my presumption to suggest that we blog our way through Isaiah, a lengthy text of biblical prophecy, deterred him. I had human confirmation that I was not alone and that my idiosyncrasies were not entirely unique. God was moving a heart to the same beat thousands of miles away.
You can follow, and perhaps comment on or join, our efforts here: http://heavenshear.blogspot.com/, but it didn't take the Holy Spirit long to link Isaiah's timeless text to my timebound predicament. Looking back on his ministry during the reigns of four kings in the opening of the book's second verse, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken." (New King James Version) That is, having experienced God's calling, having heard His voice, having been sustained by Him, the heavens and the earth are relegated to bystander status by comparison. The stars at which Isaiah might otherwise marvel are but witnesses to the glory of God Whom he has known. The earth on which Isaiah walks, into which he might have looked for crops to sustain him is subordinated, commandeered, to bear witness to the even more vital reality that he has known God, and that God has known him.
Occasional affirmations of the efficacy of our work and our words from people God puts in our lives in unusual ways are great, and reasons to praise Him. Encouragement from people who remind us, as in Psalm 134, that our labors are blessed even when they are largely unseen is welcome. Reminders from Scripture itself, as in Hebrews 12:1, that we persevere to the interest of a great cloud of witnesses can keep us running life's race. But only One was Elijah's sustenance when he was ready to give up 1 Kings 19:4, or bragged on Job when the rest of the world was either deserting him or piling on criticism. We can encourage or be encouraged, but the ultimate encouragement we can offer one another is to point back to God Who sees, though unseen and at times inscrutable, and hears, even when the world gets tired of the monotony of our main complaint.
Entering month six of mostly home bound unemployment following 13 years as a counselor and professional chatterbox, I feel his pain. I've developed some definition of discipline sending blogs and job applications out into cyberspace, but reactions both instant and regular are missing. This reality as the new normal made the exception of all the more sweet.
I posted a Bible-based encouragement that we should keep in mind the hidden witnesses of our actions undertaken by faith, those who may not give us a visible reaction on a daily basis. A man named Gene from Idaho liked that status, and I mentioned how much the confirmation that SOMEBODY hears meant to me. We talked about the role of writing in disciplining and chronicling our spiritual lives, and I encouraged him to take up the cyber equivalent of his pen again, irrespective of how much human approval he got in the process.
With unusual assertiveness for me, I suggested that he and I undertake a journey of mutual accountability. We could, I volunteered, go through a book of the Bible together and write our responses. At least in part, I expected Heaven to credit me for my boldness in challenging and encouraging this stranger of a few days before – without my actually having to do anything. Surely he would say no to such an unconventional proposal. He didn't. Not even my presumption to suggest that we blog our way through Isaiah, a lengthy text of biblical prophecy, deterred him. I had human confirmation that I was not alone and that my idiosyncrasies were not entirely unique. God was moving a heart to the same beat thousands of miles away.
You can follow, and perhaps comment on or join, our efforts here: http://heavenshear.blogspot.com/, but it didn't take the Holy Spirit long to link Isaiah's timeless text to my timebound predicament. Looking back on his ministry during the reigns of four kings in the opening of the book's second verse, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken." (New King James Version) That is, having experienced God's calling, having heard His voice, having been sustained by Him, the heavens and the earth are relegated to bystander status by comparison. The stars at which Isaiah might otherwise marvel are but witnesses to the glory of God Whom he has known. The earth on which Isaiah walks, into which he might have looked for crops to sustain him is subordinated, commandeered, to bear witness to the even more vital reality that he has known God, and that God has known him.
Occasional affirmations of the efficacy of our work and our words from people God puts in our lives in unusual ways are great, and reasons to praise Him. Encouragement from people who remind us, as in Psalm 134, that our labors are blessed even when they are largely unseen is welcome. Reminders from Scripture itself, as in Hebrews 12:1, that we persevere to the interest of a great cloud of witnesses can keep us running life's race. But only One was Elijah's sustenance when he was ready to give up 1 Kings 19:4, or bragged on Job when the rest of the world was either deserting him or piling on criticism. We can encourage or be encouraged, but the ultimate encouragement we can offer one another is to point back to God Who sees, though unseen and at times inscrutable, and hears, even when the world gets tired of the monotony of our main complaint.
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