Experiencing God Day 1

Military pilots and civilian alike are trained to know what the gauges are saying. They know to trust them. When I was going through Naval Aircrewman school, we went through what was known as the "Spin and Puke". It was a pod in which you sat in that was allowed to spin left and right as well as around in a big circle with other pods. There was a joystick on a display pad so that when asked you had to determine what angle you thought your wings were at. The instructors spun the machine so that we were disoriented, hence the "Spin" part and then they spun the individual pods, hence the "Puke" part. No I didn't puke or hear of anyone in my class puke but I can see why they would call it that. The objective of this was simply to let you experience that your body is not meant to fly. After spinning around we were asked to indicate where do we "feel" the wings should be at. Then they would reveal that the tilting that we felt was totally opposite and sometimes we were stopped. In an aircraft, the forces being felt by your body tricks your brain into thinking that the wings are in a left turn when in fact the wings are actually in a right turn. This obviously could lead to a very dangerous situation. So to counter this "feeling", the pilots are trained to rely on the flight gauges. The gauges never lie and can be trusted. (I do realize that there can be some mechanical and electrical failures that could lead the gauges wrong but in most situations they worked.)

When we as Christians go through our daily lives, we tend to live by our "feelings". Then we wonder "What is God's will for me today?" Often we get no reply. Do we hear God's voice? Do we trust it when we do? How do we hear it? Audibly? This series on Experiencing God we are going to explore what it means to really get closer to Him. Just as the helicopter pilots that I flew with learned to trust their instruments and distinguish their feelings versus what the helicopter is doing, we will distinguish God's voice and will for our lives. So without further adieu lets look at the book. If you do not have the book then just follow along with my lead. I'll post a link later for you to order the book. It would be advisable to keep a journal while doing this Bible study. You will need to answer questions as we go along. Don't worry I will never them and neither will anyone else, unless you share them. Also, writing your answers in a journal will help you review if you happen to miss a day or two. You will notice progress in your walk with Christ as you look back in your answers.

1. When you come to the Lord Jesus to seek His will for your life, which of the following requests is most like what you ask? Check your response.

•       Lord, What do you want me to do? When you do you want me to do it? How shall I do it? Where shall I do it? Who do you want me to involve along the way? And please tell me what the outcome will be.


•       Lord, just tell me what to do one step at a time, and I will do it.

You know many of us just wants to know the place where God wants us to go and we will find the way there. Instead we should let our response correspond to the second one. It's almost like we were taken to the amusement park by our parents and then told to meet back up at a certain time. We rode every ride that we saw first and stood in long lines just to ride to best ones. However, our parents saw the big picture and wanted us to experience the whole park by following a certain path. You see, when we follow our own path we miss the blessings of the whole. Who is it that really knows the way for you to go to fulfill God's purpose in your life? God is. Jesus said, "I am the Way."

If you were to do everything that Jesus tells you one day at a time, do you suppose that you always would be right in the center of where God wants you to be?

The book tells of how Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) followed GOd one day at a time. God told him to go to a land that I will show you.

Gen 12:1-5  The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  (2)  I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  (3)  I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.  (4)  So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.  (5)  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

How specific was God? He just told Abram to go. Where? "To a land where I will show you." Are you ready to follow God in that way? (This is a good time for journal reflection)

God is more likely to call you one day at a time rather than giving you the whole details.

Please comment on this material. I take each comment serious. It only makes it better.