Month: April 2015

For people in my area and in my circle, there have been a number of significant unsettling events. First was the major earthquake in Nepal, where several young friends either live or are currently visiting. Then the riots in Baltimore, where many of my friends live or work, even some serving in the police. Who can make sense of an earthquake? And even more so, who can make sense of senseless violence, striking out at innocents?

In these unsettled times, there is only one safe haven, and that is God. One of the verses that I both take comfort from and see a direction for my desire to DO something is Philippians 4:5-7, which says, “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
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Because the Lord is near, we can rest in him. But just to be sure he doesn’t miss anything important (okay, maybe it’s so we get to partner with him), we can discipline ourselves to be aware that because he is near and because he cares, we can begin by thanking him, and then, in that attitude of faith that comes from recognizing our basis for thankfulness, we can present our requests, knowing that he hears us. When we are at that point, we are ready to receive his peace.

I wanted to do something special to honor God on Good Friday this year. Normally I participate in the Cross Walk in my town, in which people from the churches in the area carry an 8-foot high wooden cross about a mile through town. But this year I decided that it would be a lot more meaningful for me to spend the day completely focused on God at a silent retreat.

So around 9 on Good Friday morning, I hopped in my car for the one-hour drive to the silent retreat center. It was raining, and that took some of my excitement away, since I usually walk outdoors a lot at the silent retreat center, and if it rained all day, I’d be stuck inside, potentially with a large number of people. And six hours cramped indoors with a bunch of silent strangers is not the best environment to stay focused on God. But I also sensed God wanted me to go, so I went. It turned out that the rain kept a lot of people home, so the attendance was light. It also didn’t rain the whole time, so I got to walk outdoors for close to two hours, which was quite a blessing, given how comfortable the temperature was.

I don’t normally go to silent retreats with questions on my mind. I am normally content just experiencing the intimate Presence of God and following his lead in the conversation. But this time I went with questions that I had been thinking about for a few days. I had been thinking about Good Friday, and Jesus being crucified. This led me to think — believe it or not — about the original sin in the Garden of Eden, about the wrath of God, about why Jesus had to die for us (instead of God just forgiving us without Jesus’ death), and about the passages in the Bible that talked about the potter and the clay.

I knew that having a lot of questions didn’t guarantee getting a lot of answers — though many of my deepest questions have been answered on silent retreats. But I also sensed while I was driving there that there was a certain order the questions should be addressed in. And by that I mean that there were certain Bible passages that pertained to the various questions, and I had a general idea what order to read the verses in. Which gave me hope that God was going to do something special. But I was completely shocked out how special the time was, and how much I gained significant insight into some of the issues on my heart.

Continue reading “How God Blessed Me on My Good Friday Silent Retreat”