Manufacturing God vs. Discovering God

I work best under pressure. I have been standing on platforms and talking for God now for about 35 years. I confess I have had good days and bad days.

My friend, Craig Gilliam, from Shreveport, once gave me an article that described the pressure of the contemporary preacher/communicator. The article had a phrase in it to the effect, "The Old Testament prophets of God had the luxury of speaking only when they had a word from God. Today's preachers are required to stand up and speak weekly, no matter if they have a word from God or not."

How does it work for me? Never perfectly, let me assure you. Sometimes I consider the opportunity to process God out loud in front of people . . . whether it be a blog, an article, or a sermon, as a gift from God. I am an out loud processor. I look for God more and process Him better when I have to talk or write about Him. When I am in pain, going into a shell (my tendency) and disengaging is the worse possible option for me.

If you are not sure God is even there you may question the validity of out loud processing. But, to me, faith is not so shallow and contrived that we can talk off of pre-written scripts without some sort of tension. Answers to questions so large as Where did I come from? and Why does life happen this way? just do not fit on t-shirts and bumper stickers . . . not that there is anything wrong :) with t-shirts and bumper stickers. If God could be reduced to a plastic dashboard image then He would fit just about doggone anywhere. God is way too big for that.

God is discovered not manufactured. That makes things messy at times. For the out loud processor, God is often discovered in real time, either listening to or talking through issues. To the internal processor God is often discovered in a room alone, with a Bible, or an IPod, listening and seeking. Keep your eyes and ears open today. Resist the temptation to create God. Discover Him. The story is much better that way.