Finding God in the Story of Our Lives

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Our topic over the next few weeks is how to get closer to God.  In last week’s message we considered the difference that knowing your Heavenly Parent can make in your life. Even though we feel separated, the reality is we are never “unloved.”

This week we want to consider how to get closer to God by discovering God in the story of our lives. It’s about allowing your real self to emerge – the self that God created you to be.  It’s also about answering the question, “If you feel distant from God, who moved?”

Unveiling the Beauty Within

When I was in my late teens my biggest ambition was to go to art school. I loved drawing and design and even ventured into the world of sculpture. I was fascinated by the book, the “Agony and the Ecstasy” which told the story of Michelangelo.   I was intrigued by the process of drawing forth a beautiful statue from a block of marble. How does the sculptor do that?  The “Agony and the Ecstasy” enabled me to understand that the sculptor is simply bringing forth out of the stone what is already inside of Michelangelo's_Davidit. He or she is in one sense unveiling the beauty already within.

Our Heavenly Parent wants to draw forth the beauty within our spirit and that unfolds in the stories of our lives. Sometimes it’s the most difficult and painful stories that release the greatest beauty.

How does this process take place? In Genesis 1:28 it says that God blessed humankind and said, “Be fruitful, multiply and have dominion.” That is a statement that we are very familiar with but what does it mean when applied to the question of how to get closer to God.

The first Blessing is to be fruitful and has everything to do with connecting to God. Our task is to discover God within ourselves and we do that as we come to resemble him because both our mind and body are naturally linked to God and acting in harmony.

Nevertheless, this is not how we live most of the time! Life wasn’t designed to be a problem and certainly prayer shouldn’t be a production! But they both end up this way because we don’t know how to connect with God.

The best the world has to offer is the idea of positive self-talk which can in fact help you develop a better emotional landscape but what God wants to do is far bigger and more dramatic. He wants to be involved in every part of your life and become a part of your story and have you be a part of his story. He wants a real deal relationship with you and to get that means you have to make a major overhaul!

We have to learn how to find God in the story of our lives and in so doing; we naturally develop the mind –body harmony we seek. We become people of integrity because “We love God with all our heart and mind and love our neighbor as our self.” Our mind is connected to God and our body reflects our mind and God’s nature and heart is visible in our actions. That’s what it means to live a life centered on God.  It’s not a theory or an ideology but a way of being that enables you use Jesus’ own words about yourself, “When you see me you see the Father.” How amazing that would be!

Living in our Father’s Story

Living in our Father’s story means living in tension. Any good story involves a protagonist, an antagonist, obstacles, challenges and overwhelming tension. This is why, despite my desire to write a novel I will never manage to do so. I couldn’t bear to put my characters through difficulty or watch them make bad choices! I will have to stick with writing non-fiction.

We would find our lives boring if everything always worked out smoothly and what kind of relationship would we build with God if every prayer was instantly and miraculously answered and then some.  There would be no story. I remember one time Rev. Moon said that in some ways he missed the days in the Communist prison camp at Heung Nam because under such extreme circumstances he had to rely solely upon God with the result that he had this skin touch experience with God. Sometimes our darkest hour is our greatest gift.

To live in our Father’s story we have to remember three things:

  1. Don’t demand that the story go your way.  Even though we want to manipulate the circumstances of our lives we can’t always do that. Sometimes we have to go through an experience for our own sake or for the sake of someone else. I appreciate Thich Nhat Hanh’s wisdom that when another person makes you suffer it’s because they are suffering themselves and it’s simply spilling into your life. These circumstances offer an opportunity for growth and healing. When you can see your life as an unfolding story even difficulty represents opportunity with the possibility of blessing you and others.
  2.  Look for the storyteller (our Heavenly Parent). Pray to understand your circumstances and to see the bigger picture. You don’t know why you are in the position you are in but you can learn and grow in important ways if you refuse to be crushed by the circumstances. I was devastated at 18 when I performed poorly on an Art exam which effectively blocked my entrance to Art School. With the emotion that only a 17 year old can summon up, I climbed the misty hills behind our village and sobbed for a day, determined that my life was bleak and without a future. I ended up going to nursing school instead which turned out to be a much better choice and brought me to America where my life took a dramatic turn. More about that later. But suffice it to say God had a much bigger adventure for my life and I needed to have patience while that unfolded.
  3. Stay in the story – don’t run away because things are tough.  When things aren’t going your way, look out for unexpected gifts. Maybe God is doing something you can’t see. Sometimes God is silent and we become frustrated so we start to blame God and feel abandoned. But God may be silent because he is waiting for us to realize something. Our Heavenly Parent never forces people but quietly waits for us to get the memo.

This is what it means to be a co-creator. The Divine Principle talks about people being co-creators of their lives, together with God. If this is the case then we can’t expect God to do everything – to give us all the answers. God is waiting for us to solve problems, figure things out. He wants us to be co-equal in nature with him and for that to happen we have to wrestle, struggle, create, solve, love and distinguish ourselves in some way as the incredible people we are.

Finding your true north

God has given us a map and compass in the world scriptures. The Bible is an amazing book. It is full of timeless stories and the great thing about stories is that they never grow old and can mean many things. They stretch across time and culture to inform and enrich.

For example the story of King Jehoshaphat in the Bible illustrates the points I made about discovering yourself in the midst of God’s story. It’s instructive for our own quest for mind-body unity and is something we can practice today in our own lives.

You can check out the story in 2 Chronicles 20. In true Biblical fashion King Jehoshaphat was caught in a bind. He was surrounded by hostile tribes that God had told him not to kill. But then these same tribes joined together to attack the tribe of Judah. Word came to the King that they had assembled beyond the valley to mount an attack. As you can imagine the King was duly alarmed. Verse 3 records King Jehoshaphat’s immediate response, “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord.”  We could learn a thing or two from his reaction. He was of course alarmed but he held himself in check and recognized that there was a story going on here and he needed to ask God to help him see the bigger picture. He didn’t just give into his emotions. He prayed.OT story

He petitioned God, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  These simple words involve a universe of understanding. It’s OK to say, “I don’t know what to do!” It’s so much better to ask for Heaven’s guidance than dive into blind action. Faced with difficulty it’s important to keep your eyes on God and the bigger picture. Direct your focus to God because God is unchanging, a source of absolute values in a relative and shaking world. He is reliable and your true north.

The story continues, “He (the Spirit of the Lord) said:Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

In times of difficulty we feel it’s all up to us but God was reminding people not to worry about the things they have no power over.  It’s true that we are co-creators of our lives but we are not God. We cannot control every situation – sometimes we have to let God in and allow God to help us. We have to leave some things up to God. Don’t be afraid to ask for God’s help.

And then the punch line of the story, in the midst of overwhelming odds the King decided to go with gratitude! As they set out, King Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

That’s amazing, and good advice! Having a heart of gratitude in the midst of difficulty can change your story. As it turns out, the King led the people of Judah into battle only to discover the enemy armies had already been slain. They had turned on each other. It was indeed God’s battle to be won.  King Jehoshaphat included God in his story and discovered he was in God’s story.

Discovering God’s story in your life

What happens when you don’t have a sense of your life as a part of a bigger, unfolding story that is connected to God’s story? It becomes really hard to connect, and keep going in order to find the moment of victory and be transformed in the process. It’s that link to a bigger story that gives us patience in times of difficulty or the power to love those who come against us and fight incredible odds. It’s easy to withdraw into bitterness, but when we place our hope in a bigger vision and greater purpose we discover endless possibilities.

Consider the qualities associated with these two very different realities:

No StoryLimited to just my reality StoryA part of a bigger reality and connected to God’s Story
Bitter Patient
Angry Energized
Aimless Searching
Cynical Innocent – hopeful
Controlling Discovering your place
Resentful Thankful
Blaming Repenting

As our story unfolds and we find opportunities to create harmony between our mind and body, we build integrity, and come to reflect (resemble) the eternal, unchanging Heavenly Parent. With this common base, we can surely resonate with and connect to God.

If you feel far away from God you need to ask a very important question – Who moved? Did you stay in the story or leave? Whatever situation you are in, think about King Jehoshaphat. It helps to

  •  Remember who you are as God’s son or daughter. Don’t lose your dignity in the emotion of the moment.
  • Connect to God when you don’t know what to do
  • Ask for God’s help – you are not designed to go it alone (nothing exists by itself or for itself)
  • Keep a grateful heart – even in the midst of difficulty

The experiences of our lives allow us to grow in God’s image if we stay in God’s story. If we work together with God our true self emerges just as a beautiful sculpture appears out of a marble block. In the course of our lives if we stay in the game we will undoubtedly discover our divine nature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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