Friday, March 25, 2011

"Speaking" to Others

"Be still, and know that I am God."  This verse comes from Psalm 46:10, and is easily my favorite verse of the Bible.  There is peace in those eight words, and amazing perspective.  Many times in my life I have felt like things are spinning out of control, most-likely because I am trying too hard to control them.  But this verse reels me back into reality, and helps me find a little serenity.  I'm not a Bible know-it-all by any stretch.  In fact, truth be told, I had to do a Google search to figure out in which book this verse lives.  I don't have a verse for every situation, and frankly, I don't want one.

I don't want, or even need, that much Biblical knowledge because I have discovered that most verses really don't satisfy me the way some say they should.  And I believe the reason is because that's not how I hear.  I have my one favorite verse, as I mentioned, and I don't really need much else.  I "hear" more through my eyes than anything.  I'd rather witness a sunset, or watch a thunderstorm, or share a few laughs with my wife, kids, and friends rather than hear or read Bible verses.  Living life and savoring the God-given moments do more for me.  To those who find comfort in the Bible, hey, more power to you.  We're all different.

A discussion with my sister-in-law ensued over the weekend that inspired this post.  Kristin is full of love and compassion, and has lived through some life situations which would have forced many of us to fold.  She seems to find her comfort in the Bible, and in her faith.  Her knowledge of the Bible is phenomenal, and her faith unmatched.  She draws on her life situations and her relationship with God in her attempts to comfort those who are struggling with their own issues.  Her intentions are nothing short of pure.

Unfortunately, she's experienced some less-than-desirable outcomes from those whom she's tried to comfort. Which leads me to wonder if maybe she's just trying too hard?  I get the feeling that on average, people really don't want to hear about God when they are down or when they are struggling or when we think they need to hear about God.  It really seems to drive them away more often than not.  I don't know why - maybe it's because we're human and we are looking for an immediate fix to our problems, and God doesn't always work that way.  In fact, God seldom works that way, I'd say.

I don't have all the answers, or solutions, and I may be wrong here, but maybe it's better that we lead quietly and by example.  We can comfort others if we can find a way to speak to them in which they'll actually hear, but if we can't, maybe just listening to them, loving them, and being someone they can look up to from time-to-time is enough.  Seems better than driving them away with something they aren't willing to digest.

"Be still, and know that I am God."  Seems like the big guy is saying, "Hey, I got this one.  I've been doing this a long time, so just let me handle it in my way."

Thoughts?    

Friday, March 18, 2011

Resurrecting the Blog

April 29th, 2009.  That is the date of my last post on Biotikology.  I've just spent some time going back through some of my old posts, and have come to realize how much I miss writing and sharing my thoughts through this forum.  Even more so, I miss reflecting on the thoughts of others.  I have tinkered with the idea of just writing on facebook, but for various reasons, I'm leaning in the direction of resurrecting this old blog.  I have also discovered (I think) that I can share this blog on facebook each time I write a new post.  I've probably lost many of the followers of this old blog, but I hope to find them again, as well as maybe some new ones.

So that's my general randomness for today.  Nothing special.  I'll have more in the days and weeks to come, and as life continues to unfold.  I'm back.........