Attuned

Call me weird (I'm sure many people do), but I have fantasies about spiritual stuff. Nothing way out of the ordinary in one regard (like I don't imagine what it might be like to levitate or enter another creatures body or anything of that nature), but I do have curiosities about things like what walks through a forest with Jesus might be like, or what experiencing a miracle like the feeding of thousands would do for my courage or what it would be like to hear God's voice as if I had my own set of divine headphones (now there is a headphone Bose might invent that I'd be willing to spend a few hundred dollars on). Those kinds of fantasies could occupy much of my thought if I allowed it.

One of my spiritual fantasies is to have an entire day fully scripted by the Creator from beginning to end. Imagine what it would be like to awaken to the Father's voice instead of that clock radio! Mine is set on a Christian radio station and on one occasion a verse from the Bible was being read when the alarm went off and I thought that was cool. I instantly began that day with God's word on my mind. But, what if it was God's voice that opened your day, every day? Would the snooze button have the same appeal if it were God blessing you awake, instead of the local report of weather, road closures and traffic tie-ups?

And what if after your shower, Jesus would arrive (already pure and holy) and you and the Lord sat down together and went through the day's schedule? God would have the day perfectly timed for maximum efficiency and productivity. Wouldn't it be great to have a Holy Spirit "secretary" leading through each appointment and obligation? Though I want to imagine this and more, I find it difficult to dream of how much I'd get done in a day if God were in totally charge of my schedule. How wonderful would that be?

How persuasive do you think you could be in that negotiations meeting if Jesus quietly spoke into your ear every time you needed a response to the other person's comment. Imagine having the foreknowledge and prompting of One who knows what the other person will say even before they know! Before a single word was on their lips, you would not only know what the word would be, but you would also discern the motive behind it. Wouldn't that be great? People would think you were so wise or shrewd and yet you would know where the prompt originated, wouldn't you? It would be difficult to take any credit or receive a compliment in the matter because you would know it was something quite beyond you making it happen.

Solutions today for tomorrow's problems wouldn't be an issue either because God's wisdom would preclude every decision. God would be advising what action now will yield the greatest outcome over time. It would be an amazing working relationship, wouldn't it? There is no telling how productive that day would be, the effects of which might last for years and years.

At the close of the day, it would be fun just to stop and simply reminisce together about all the things you'd accomplished. To marvel at the productivity, to laugh at the way all things worked together for good, to share in all the relational victories would be a great way to end the day, don't you think?

Yes, that is quite a fantasy I must confess. But I must also admit I believe the distance between spiritual fantasy and spiritual reality is often separated by only a very thin line. It is a line of faith and discipline that we are sometimes too weak and often too afraid to cross. The problem is never with God's ability to deliver, but in our inability to receive it.

What spiritual fantasy might you imagine? Would your dream be for God's glory or for your own reward? Would it allow you to become less of yourself and more of what He wants you to be? Do you believe given the opportunity, you would have the faith to live your spiritual fantasy out?

How attuned to God do you really want to be? How many of your spiritual fantasies are only a thin line from becoming a spiritual reality?