Do'er

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelation 2:17 NIV

Ever had a nickname that just sort of fit you? Back in the day I helped organize a men’s retreat on a cattle ranch. It was a great weekend. Ironically, we castrated cattle for one of our jobs to help the landowner. That is not really relevant, just ironic. The weekend was centered around a question we were each to ask God - “You know the man you had in mind when you made me. Who do you know me as?”

On day two of that weekend, we sent each man out with a mission to explore that question with God. We each went out to find somewhere solitary and search for that answer. We had maybe 30 or so guys spread out all over the countryside, but many of us ended up with an amazingly similar experience.

The ranch had a lot of trees. On that day there was a large number of birds in those trees. I think they were starlings. They were small but could be quite loud in unison. Interestingly, I remember sitting there trying to find quiet but being sort of annoyed by the birds. However, I started to notice a similar sound. “Do’er”.

The sound of hundreds of birds gave me the unmistakable answer. God called me “Do’er”. I know many men who heard names from within those birds that day, each was unique to the hearer. I can nearly guarantee anyone who attended that weekend will remember it. It really was powerful.

At the time I was active in more than one role in our church. I was busy. Maybe I was too busy but at the time I took it as confirmation that my spiritual walk involved me being busy. Back then I thought of it more as a confirmation than a word of caution.

If I compare my outlook then to today, I have learned something. Busy is okay. Sometimes busy is needed, there can be a lot to do. However, too busy can be a trap. If all I ever do involves activity, even if those activities are inherently good, I can rob myself of the solitude needed to connect with God. Moreover, I can start to think that I am necessary.

Don’t get me wrong, I think God has things planned for each of us to do. The bible tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” However, it is easy to get the activity confused with connection. Sometimes the activity leads to connection. But sometimes the activity gives us connection to other people that, while valid, is not a substitute to solitude with the Savior.

Do you ever turn off everything?

Do you ever sit still?

Challenge: Don’t get it twisted, God wants us but He doesn’t really need us to accomplish saving the world. He can do that on His own. Conversely, we need Him, but don’t necessarily want Him in every aspect of our life. Maybe we should. If you do not do so already, turn off the noise, you might be surprised what – or who - you hear.

Rick Claiborn