Day 28: For the impatient among us

The Day 28 chapter talks about how it takes a life time to become like Christ, explains why it takes so long, and recommends patience.  I have to admit, I'm not at all impatient about this.  I think its because I don't really aspire to be like Christ, I aspire to be like a buddhist or taoist monk - nothing seems to bother those guys, they appear constantly serene, and their koans seem a lot cooler than Jesus's parables.  Maybe that's just because I grew up with Jesus's parables but the koans remain exotic. Maybe if I knew more about Jesus, I would find becoming like Christ more appealing.

This chapter again contends that God creates problems in our lives so we will draw near to him.  I note, however, that unlike practically every other point the Rick Warren makes in the book, he has no bible versus quoted to back this contention.  I'm glad that it might just be his point of view, because the only sane response to someone who trys to attract you to them by causing you problems is to slowly back away from them making no sudden movements until you are out of the room - then run like hell.

The chapter does have some good suggestions on how to "cooperate with God":

• believe God is working in your life - while somethings happen quickly, other things take time
• don't get discouraged - a delay is not a denial by God
• keep a notebook of lessons learned - it will help you remember the lessons so you don't need to be taught them again! [I also find there is something about having things in black and white that is impossible to ignore.  For a decade now my natropath has been at me to give up diary foods because it blocks my sinuses, and I've been sort of off diary in a half hearted way for a few years now.  A few days ago I decided to start writing down everything that I ate so I could monitor what gives me energy and makes me feel good and vice versa.  The first day I had a glass of milk on my cereal and within minutes my sinsuses where congested.  Staring at my notes that night before going to bed (with a still congested nose), I thought, "why do I do this to myself, its just stupid" and now I just don't want to go near the stuff.]
• be patient with God - his timetable rarely matches ours.  This reminded me of Joseph (he of the amazing technocolour dreamcoat), he was sold to slave traders by his brothers (who then told their father he was dead), he is then sold to the captain of the guard in Egypt and serves him faithfully until the captain's wife accuses him of attempted rape when he resists her advances.  Joseph then spends years in jail until he is give the opportunity to interpret two dreams for the pharaoh and recommends a way to deal with a forecast famine in the land. As a reward, the pharaoh puts him in charge of all of Egypt.  When I first read this story I thought it unfair that God made Joseph wait so long in prison, just to be in the right place for the pharoah to find him when he needs him.  However, reading it again now, it strikes me that as a child he helped on his fathers farm, as a slave he proved his worth and was put in charge of an estate, in prison he refined his dream interpretation skills, so when the time came, he was ready to meet the pharaoh and had the skills required to run a country.  All the while, he trusted God and did not complain.

    I think I want to be like Joseph even more than I want to be like a buddhist monk.

Day 14: When God goes MIA

The Day 14 chapter is about the times in your life when everything is going wrong and you think God is ignoring you or even begin to question whether He exists.

These times are another way God tests you. When you are a child (and perhaps when you have just recently returned to the Lord?), God answers your prayers so you know he exists. But as you get older, God tests your faith so it matures.

Rick Warren spends a bit of time explaining that feeling the presence of God is not the same as the omnipresence of God. God is always with us even when we can't feel his presence. I have to say I have never felt the presence of God until I started typing this paragraph. Now I feel like there is someone in the room with me, even though I am by myself, which is very spooky.

During the times when God feels absense, Rick Warren recommends the following (with frequent references to the book of Job):

• Tell God exactly how you feel - God can handle it even if you are angry with him. While it may not be obvious, this is an act of faith becuase it shows you believe in God, you believe God is listening to you and you believe God will still love you even when you express negative emotions
• Focus on who God is - God is good, God loves you, God has a plan for your life
• Trust God to keep his promises - I'm not sure what his promises are and the book doesn't say, must start reading the bible once I finish this 40 days
  
• Remember what God has already done for you - sent his son to die on the cross to save us from hell (now I know that my knowledge of God is limited, but I don't understand why, given God sets the rules, that he set them up this way.)