Back To WHERE???...

How many of you can remember THAT place. You know the one I'm talking about... the one place you visited and decided right then and there that some day you just HAD to come back. It was the place that stirred you in some manner.

Maybe it stirred some emotion, like happiness, or moved you to indelibly mark in your memory so you could come back to it again and again. Maybe it was something as light hearted as a memorable trip of some sort... you know... where the views were remarkable and pictures just couldn't capture the beauty of it. It could have been a vacation spot that you and your spouse stumbled upon that just seemed to ooze romance. Maybe it was a restaurant that you'd never been to before, but the whole experience was so enjoyable that you've just got to get back to it.

At any rate, you get my drift. I'm talking about the place we have all been, where the moment, the atmosphere, the setting, or whatever... somehow stirred us to want to come back to it. And the wonderful thing about it, is that THAT place is different for every person. What floats one person's boat may not do a thing for someone else, but we've ALL got that one place in our memory or in our heart... RIGHT? And THAT'S the place we want to get back to some day.

Thinking about that got me to thinking about something else. I am continuously amazed as I talk with people and listen to their stories of how God has moved in their lives, or spoken to them in their time of trial, or delivered them from some affliction. And so many times as people continue to talk, they finally get to the point where they confess that it seems like it's been a long time since they've heard from God on a personal and intimate level.

Now true enough... one word from God spoken in due season may be enough to motivate someone for years, but over time, the intimacy of THAT moment is missed. I've had people tell me of how hard they've sought God and haven't heard from Him for a long time. How they've tried over and over, pleaded and begged God to speak to them, but all they hear is silence. I don't usually get my theology from someone else, but I heard a well known national ministry speaker say this one day, and it stuck in my mind as ringing truth. They said, "If it's been a long time since you've heard from God, stop what you're doing and GO BACK to doing what you were doing when you DID hear from Him."

For a man named Jacob, THAT place was a place called Bethel. Bethel was a place where God delivered him from his trials as he was running for his life and trying to get away from his brother, Esau. It was a place where Jacob literally had a very personal experience with the Lord. And some time later, God spoke to Jacob and told him to return to Bethel. The reason is not too clear, but it's not that important either. Bethel was the place where God could talk to Jacob, where Jacob could hear God, and God wanted him back there to talk to him some more.

For us, as Christians... for us as God's people who sometimes wonder why we can't seem to hear anything from God, especially about some important matter, no matter how hard we try, maybe we should go back to Bethel. Back to our spot where we DID hear His voice. Back to the one place where we DID experience His presence. We get so caught up in the notion that we've got to keep moving forward... keep going no matter what... advance at all costs... that we often lose sight of the fact that movement necessary to our advancement and growth may not be forward at all. In fact, God may want us to go back to THAT place where we heard Him before, because He wants us to hear Him again.

Bethel for one person may be a completely different place than it is for someone else. In fact, Bethel may not be some physical location at all... it may be a PLACE... spiritually. And I don't know about you, but I think I'd rather go back to my Bethel than that great restaurant I was just thinking about. But then, Hey... It's Just A Thought.

Pastor Eddy