Headlong Into the Irresistible Orbit — Plucking and Planting

This week has been tough. Without getting into specifics, I've felt pretty low overall. I think many of us, if we could freely share without fear of judgement, could say that we have weeks that seem to suck every bit of life from us. I don't know that we always can point to one specific thing that causes these weeks to be a challenge. Maybe our prayer life hasn't been what it should be, maybe you are experiencing financial difficulties, maybe your children have made it so that you haven't had a decent night sleep in 8 years. Whatever it is, it seems that our travels have stalled and a way forward is nowhere in sight. This is the way of the adventure we call life. I have titled this particular blog after a line from a song written by a favorite band of mine (from my high school days). "Let's take a trip together, headlong into the irresistible orbit". I think it is often our default that when things get tough, we decide we are going to "go it alone". The people who have heard me preach know that when I say "we", I really mean "me" and you can decide if it applies to you or not. So I'll start again, when things get tough, when I have weeks like the one I have had, I have a tendency to shut people out. Unfortunately, that often includes God. I feel like I have somehow wandered somewhere and I want to get my bearings before I "reach out" to God again. I don't mean that I stop reading or praying, I just mean that I think there is something other than my whole self in it.

But here is the realization that I came to this morning that has offered me some peace. I'm not alone on this adventure. This may seem obvious to some of you and maybe impossible to others but I have an overwhelming peace from the reality of that truth this morning. I am not on this adventure alone. God is with me in the wrestling, in the wrong turns, in the moments that feel empty and dry, and I am being pulled "headlong into an irresistible orbit". The funny thing about orbits is the amount of energy it takes to remove an object from its pull. While we often over analyze every decision, conversation and turn, we miss the irresistible pull of the love of God. I think most of the decisions we make are like a choose your adventure story. There are some turns that we can make that lead to death or pain, some that may lead to some great reward but most of the turns that we make are part of the big adventure we call life. That is the beauty of free will. If you decide to go to one coffee shop over the other, maybe you missed an opportunity to be a blessing to someone who needed to run into a positive person that morning but it doesn't mean that God hasn't already sent someone else their way to encourage them. This even applies to bigger decisions like where to go to school or where to work. There are often better decisions but that doesn't mean that any decision other than that is wrong and that you have sent yourself into a tailspin of despair. What you will find is that there a limitless number of opportunities at the coffee shop you did decide to go to or the school you decide on or the job you take. There are hurting people everywhere, there are people that can encourage and speak into your life too, there are challenges, bad and good professors, annoying co-workers and one that will become lifelong friends in all of these decisions. Try to make the best decision but don't drive yourself crazy and stuck in a lifetime of second guessing.

I'm pretty sure that there is a massive number of believers who are anxious wrecks, second guessing every move and decision, regretting missed opportunities and failed witness. This is not the way of Jesus, there is no life that will come from this type of thinking. The sun does not rise and set based on your decisions. In scripture, when followers of God were faced with a pivotal decision about a people or place they were go to, they received visions in a trance, visitations from angels or an audible voice from God. God doesn't leave these massive decisions to our trying to discern a hunch. So if you aren't receiving those types of messages from those types of messengers, your act of faith is as simple as throwing yourself "headlong into the irresistible orbit". And in that orbit you will often feel like you're tumbling helplessly out of control. Maybe you'll feel like you are about to spin free of the orbit and float hopelessly into space but I say that is where the irresistible aspect of the orbit comes into play. When we see the way of Jesus, I mean when we really see it, we won't be able to take our eyes off of it. And even when we feel we have lost sight, His love draws us back again.

I want to close with is encouragement. There will be times that your path seems like a departure from the irresistible orbit but realize that sometimes what feels like wandering is actually a return. A path becomes well worn only because it is traveled often, not necessarily because it is the way. Be willing to break new ground, forge new paths all for the sake of the announcement of the kingdom of God. Be willing to take wrong turns and experience loose footing. Please understand that God is always bigger than your missteps and mistakes and what seems like a misstep or mistake may be the uncovering of a path to peace for a forgotten tribe. It's all magical and mystical, wondrous and weird and I don't want to miss any part of it for anything. "The way" is an irresistible orbit and it's coming back around. Maybe it's time to jump on in.