Oceans in the Desert

By Kathi Pelton

There are two narratives to choose from in our lives: God’s narrative or the enemy’s narrative.

The enemy speaks a narrative that is a far more familiar message to what the world has taught us to live by. It is based on rational thinking, sight, circumstances, works, human strength and the wisdom of man.

God speaks a narrative that is full of mysteries, impossibilities, a wisdom that is based on grace and truths that are mere foolishness apart from faith.

I often hear people say that they don’t hear the voice of God. Often this is because they have become so familiar with the narrative of the world and the voice of reason that the mysteries of God’s ways are doubted and strange. They sound like foolish imaginations, therefore are dismissed. Yet, when the believer begins to weigh that still small voice with Biblical truths and step out in faith to follow it they discover that the foolishness of God is wiser than any human wisdom that they have followed.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25

The enemy is far too excited to shout accusations against God and his character to those who hold fast to the demand to understand his ways according to what their eyes see and the thoughts understand. But the renewed mind knows, without doubting, that there is nothing that puts the goodness of God or his faithfulness in question. No longer is there a demand to understand his ways according to the flesh but we walk out his instructions (though often foolish to those looking on) putting our hope in his faithfulness alone.

Much of the disillusionment that believers become stuck comes from listening to the all too familiar narrative of the world and of the “god of this world”. When God becomes our portion and prize there is no longer room made for disappointment and disillusionment. There is no disappointment in him— only discovery of profound mysteries as we trust and follow him.

When my husband and I were newly married we set out on our first steps of faith as a married couple by moving away from our home and all of our family to go to Bible college in another state across the nation. We didn’t have jobs arranged or money beyond what we needed to get there, and we didn’t know anyone there. We were both so excited to walk out our faith for the first time as a married couple.

After we traveled thousands of miles to arrive in our new apartment, we discovered that we had forgotten to put money aside to turn on our electricity. It was July and the heat and humidity was unbearable. We had spent all of our money on the journey to get there and on school costs so we didn’t have what we needed to turn the electricity on. We spent the first 24-hours sweating and wondering if we had bit off more than we could chew. We had only just arrived and we were already in lack.

The next day was Sunday and during worship my young husband went to the altar to pray while I stayed in the pew, feeling very alone in the midst of thousands of strangers. I looked around at the huge crowd and my eye caught sight of a white haired man walking down the center aisle. He caught my attention not because of his white hair but because he was wearing a long trench coat on a very hot and humid day. As he walked down the aisle my eyes followed his steps. When he came to the row that I was in, he squeezed past the all the people and walked straight up to me. He looked straight into my eyes and said,

“I have been sent here to give this to you.”

He placed in my hand the exact amount of money that we were in need of to turn on our electricity. Then he turned around, walked back down the aisle and left the building— in his trench coat into the 100° heat and humidity. The building was made up of glass walls so I searched with my eyes to see where he went but he just disappeared. In that moment I knew that I had just encountered an angel and I heard the voice of the Spirit say,

“Trust me always and watch what I will do.”

He sent an angel to do what we could not do for ourselves. This would merely be the first time we’d experienced angelic help and miraculous intervention throughout our years of following his voice. His divine provision has marked our lives more often than we can count and taught us to rest in the wisdom of God even when circumstances dictate another outcome.

With God everything is upside down from the way it is with the world. His Word and his Spirit are the instruments or gauges that we depend on to direct us. The right way with God is often the wrong way with the world, the “go” with God is often the “stop” with the world, left is right and right is left— with God even weakness is strength! It’s disorienting at first but what a joy it becomes when the burden of figuring things out with human understanding and working with our limited strength is replaced by the mercy, grace and wisdom of God.

The following words are the foolishness by which we live by and find our truth in,

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”” I Corinthians‬ ‭1:26-31‬ ‭

Dare to follow the mysterious voice of truth and the narrative of God. You will find rest for your soul and joy in your journey. His ways are not our ways…THEY ARE HIGHER!

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