I Just Had an Epiphany!

Epiphany: 1. A divine manifestation. 2. A moment of sudden understanding or revelation.

Sometimes it’s nothing less than funny how God works. I have just received a revelation of what God wants me to do. I have been very frustrated lately about not knowing God’s will – considering I’ve been praying fervently and consulting him regularly. It started last October, when I got a fantastic job offer from a great, reputable company in the energy industry. The job was a definite step up for me: it was a managerial job with a great salary, up to 20% annual bonus, and a signing bonus – it looked like a very busy position but it also looked awesome! BUT…for some reason I couldn’t get any peace about accepting the job offer. From an earthly point of view, it was absolutely the right thing to do. However, when the company sent me the offer letter and contract, I prayed about it, lost all sorts of sleep over it, told the company “yes”, then “no”, then “yes”, then “I have to think about it some more”, until the company finally got tired of my flip-flopping and revoked the offer. Rightfully, the company told me that “…it seemed like I wasn’t comfortable with making the commitment”. I think that was their kind way of saying: “you can’t make up your #^&% mind. My sincere apologies to them and my wife – I was driving both of them up the wall (across the ceiling and down the adjacent wall) with my indecision.

Why was I so undecided?! I was praying for a definite answer, but I still couldn’t get a definite ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. I just got an undefined, uneasy feeling and nothing else. Well, this whole thing was emotionally draining for me and I was really disappointed that God wasn’t showing me explicitly what he wanted. This disappointment was compounded by the fact that my current job is not very interesting, not very challenging and not going anywhere - so why could I not get peace about accepting the other, seemingly much better, job? Answer: Because God was saying to me: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal”. [Matthew 6:20]. That job would have made me incredibly busy. My spiritual life, my family, and my ability to provide greater Christian service would have suffered due to the time commitment that was demanded by that job.

BINGO! Thank God he was indeed speaking to me. He is telling me to focus less on the material aspects of life and focus on the things that have lasting value. Duh! Sometimes I’m sure God thinks I’m completely dense. God isn’t interested in me buying a bigger house, nicer car, and having a more prestigious job title. He is interested in my unyielding desire to serve him – key word here is “serve”. God isn’t interested in giving us the most luxurious life possible regardless of our spiritual condition and priorities. He is interested in us being 100% yielded to him AND then, as an added bonus “…all these things (material blessings) will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). I should mention that there were two things that (finally) led me to this epiphany:

1. I have been bothered, over the last number of months, by how little eschatology (the study of end times and of heaven and hell) is discussed in the church. It’s estimated that twenty-five percent (25%) of the bible is dedicated to future and, as of yet, unfulfilled prophesy and nobody is actively talking about it – at least in the churches I have attended. I have been greatly troubled by this. I have been casually reading about eschatology for a few years and just finished another excellent book entitled “From Iraq to Armageddon” by Keith Intrater. I don’t agree with everything in the book, but the ending especially made an impact on me (and hopefully it will be a profound impact). The book ends with a discussion on heavenly rewards for the Christian. Intrater quotes the following verses:

"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:47-48, NIV)

These verses are not talking about punishment for unbelievers, because punishment for unbelievers is eternal damnation in the lake of fire. This punishment, limited to “few” or “many” blows, is referring to believers who chose to act or not act on their knowledge of God’s will.

These verses are telling me personally that if I feel uneasy or uncomfortable about the lack of eschatological sermons in the church today, I should do what I can about it. God has pointed this lack of discussion out to me; now it is my responsibility to do something about it, lest I be guilty and deserving of “many blows”.

2. I began this post by saying how funny God works sometimes. Well the second reason leading to my epiphany was just such a funny and remote possibility. I was reading an article in a magazine about how a church was having incredible political strife within it’s ranks. A long-serving couple had been excommunicated from the church and things soon got ugly within the church after that. Well, this story intrigued me, so I searched out this church on the internet. I surfed to the church’s home page and immediately noticed that two past friends of mine were mentioned as workers in the church.

I tried to email this couple to try and give them some encouragement and say hi, but I didn't have their current email address. However, what I think may have been just as important is that somehow I stumbled upon their blog. This is amazing in itself because blogs by their very nature are normally quite anonymous, and this blog was no exception. But somehow I found their blog, through the anonymous blog of another long lost friend, which details their recent departure for a six month missions trip to South Africa. What an inspiring (and actually quite hilarious) blog it is turning out to be. This couple has left their comfortable existence in a major City, their home, and their friends and are being obedient to God’s calling and pursuing his will. Some of their stories are absolutely comical and can be found at http://gowellstaywell.blogspot.com.

This couple has inspired me to “get to work for the Lord”. The blog talks about their hardships in an entirely different and primitive culture. It caused me to think that if they can go all the way to South Africa to follow their convictions, certainly I should act on what the Lord is telling me. End result is I need to get to work. As Luke 12 states, I need to get to work because I think God has been talking to me, and will hold me accountable for focusing on an end times ministry. God help me to be obedient to what he has been telling me these last five months. Honestly, I’m psyched to do it, but it isn't without a little fear - eschatology is an overwhelming subject. Thanks Cathy and Dan, even though you don’t know it, you’ve given me a profound example, inspiration and a much needed “kick in the pants” to get moving on what God has asked me to do.

"If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!" [Mark 13:36-37, NIV]