Resistant

I usually embrace the Sunday Scribblings writing prompt as a challenge to write a short piece of fiction. Last week, I wrote about my actual day. Some of it may have been exaggerated, but it was, essentially, non-fiction. This time, I don't even have a non-fiction story to share.

I've been sitting in front of my computer for the last hour. I've been looking at the word "Resistant" trying to come up with some story to build around that word. And I've come up with nothing. It's as if my brain is resistant to creativity today.

Maybe I just have a lot on my mind and it's difficult to wade through all of that. No, I'm not stressed out exactly. I mean, yes, I do have a lot to do for work this week. Well, really, in the next couple of days. Tends to happen whenever the end of the month arrives. But I'm really not concerned about that. I'm not too concerned about much of anything right now. That's how I am most of the time.

I don't tend to worry. There are some people who look at me and wish they could have that kind of attitude. I can't teach people how to not worry. It's just a choice that I make. But I don't want this post to be about how much I do or don't stress out about things.

Believe it or not, I do want to incorporate this week's writing prompt. And to do that, I need to talk about some stuff I've been reading lately.

The small group that I've joined through church is reading through the entire Bible this year. Thus far, we've read the entire books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Job. This week, we're getting through Judges. I've attempted to read through the Bible before. I usually fail around Leviticus. It's been a lot easier this time around because I'm doing it with a group of people. We're able to encourage each other week after week to keep going. And we discuss what we've read and how to apply it to our lives today. Not always easy to do when taking on some of the, seemingly, more obscure laws found in the Pentateuch.

Last week, as a part of our discussion as a group, we were each challenged to think of a favorite story or passage that we've read thus far. I came up with one or two specific stories that I've really enjoyed. But those aren't the things I wanted to share with the group. No, I wanted to share just how impressed I was with the Bible as a whole.

I'm sure that sounds like a cop out. Especially since we haven't actually read through the entire Bible yet. But, what we have read, I love. Not the individual stories. I love how cohesive it all is. I grew up in church and I've taken a lot of classes involving biblical studies. So I've heard a lot of pastors and professors talk about the Bible as a whole. I've heard it said that everything prior to Jesus' lifetime is pointing toward the work He did on the cross. Everything afterward points back to His work on the cross. It's great to see that for myself while reading through the early history of the nation of Israel.

And it's not as difficult as you might think to apply a lot of the Old Testament's lessons to life in the 21st century. People are people. When it comes to listening to the voice of God, we still have the same struggles that Abraham's descendents had. It's always been so easy for me to look back at the story of the Exodus and think about how stupid the Israelites were. I mean, God just saved them from slavery in Egypt with some pretty amazing miracles. The sea parted. Moses goes up on the mountain to get the law from the Lord and in the time he's gone, the people build a golden calf to worship. This kind of thing happens repeatedly. The people are so easily distracted from living righteous lives, only to be violently reminded who is really in control.

Like I said, it's easy to look back at those stories and think the people were stupid. It's also easy, and maybe a little convenient, to ignore my own stupidity. Time after time, the Bible gives us examples of how resistant God's people were to hearing His voice. Time after time, I find that I am just as resistant to hearing His voice.

Over the centuries, it seems that mankind has become more and more removed from our ability to hear God's voice. Those old stories usually involve God speaking to a chosen individual or individuals. There was Abraham and his immediate descendents, Moses, Joshua and the judges. God spoke, they listened. God used those men and women to remind Israel that God was still around. If the people of those days had God speaking directly to them, and still had trouble hearing His voice, how much harder is it for us today?

In this day and age, we don't have prophets to tell us what God is trying to say. If we did, there's a good chance we would just label them as crazy people. So how do we change that? Should we go out looking for a burning bush? Should we lay out a fleece looking for God's answers? I don't have the answer. All I know for sure is that I'm finally at a place in my life where I enjoy reading the words that God gave humanity that have been passed down through the millennia. So far, I really enjoy what He's had to say and I look forward to hearing His voice even more clearly from here on out.