What is the POINT, REALLY?

In an order to quiet my mind, to posture myself to receive from the Lord, I went on a silent retreat last weekend. It was really really hard to try to clear my mind of the things I did that day, that week, what I had to do the next week...people who needed things, people to call, food to cook, groceries to buy, that TV show, my lack of "quiet time" with God, washing clothes, e-mails to answer, spending quality time with my husband...it didn't seem it would end. It was hard. We are not brought up to be quiet, but instead to be prepared, to be fully finished, to have order and fullness in our lives. It is not normal for us to have hours to contemplate or to meditate.
Someone said to me once that there are people who really hear from God all of the time. I imagine that these people have postured themselves such that they are not continually inundated with the "stuff" soceity throws our way 24/7. What a concept!

It took me about 30 hours before I felt like I was really quiet, really in a place to hear from God, not distracted by the buzzing of my mind. Then, the question started: What is the point, really? What is the thing that we are missing? Where is that point, and how do we get there?

As I began to pray about this, my mind was buzzing again, but it seemed as if it was not distracted. Here is what the Lord seemed to reveal to me...

Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He established it, yes, and searched it out for His own use and He alone posesses it. But to man He said, Behold the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord - that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. Job 28: 27-28

Now think of all of the places in which we seek to find wisdom...and all of the things we know that we proclaim to show others our wisdom. It seems almost foolish.

If certain things were removed fully from our lives, which would "shake" our lives the most?
What would America miss the most?
Answer: Clothes, TV, cell phones, computers, FOOD, cars, prescription medications
Unfortunately I saw all of these things being missed more than friends and family, God and community. Think for a minute...if a family member or a friend were to suddenly be gone, we would have all of the other vices listed to distract us, to zone us out, to seemingly make us "ok" again.

When all that can be shaken is shaken, who will America turn to? To whom will we cry out? Even the beasts of the field know and cry out to God, but for now we can only hope that our nation will do the same. When there isn't an "emergent church" to answer the questions that baffle our minds, or to offer a place to post/express opinion, what will this new generation of Christians do? Will we be able to remain faithful, trusting our God to provide what we need? Are we finding satisfaction in mere knowledge? Are we finding our identity in our church, our peer groups, our worship music and candles? Does it move beyond a physical setting into our hearts? What truly makes us happy? Is it the earthly things we are a part of, or is it knowing the heart of the One who created us?

The more familiar I become with postmodernism and the movement called the "emergent church" the more I see the fad, the "style," the hip way to do church...it seems no different to me than all of the fads before...and as for being an open place of exceptance, where all are welcome, I am afraid it may not be that either. Sometimes it seems to really be a place for young, liberal, free thinkers or techies, or intellectuals. I don't see a place for a legalist or the tax collector, the right wing conservative or the pro-war candidate.

It seems that we have just etched out our new set of ideals that seem to go against the old, but we have forgotten the point: communion with our God and an intimate relationship with our Abbah Father. He is there for every personality and opinion, He doesn't care about whether or not we support the war as long as we are seeking His wisdom, His love. He is not impressed by our knowledge, but longs to give us love and to impart His wisdom.

Will we be His still when our new hip comfort zone fails us? Will we know why we exist if our community crumbles? Let's allow God to move us past our identity in the seeker church of great concerts, the emergent church of intellect, the traditional church of safety and into an identity in Him alone that will stand the test of time.

Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn and keep coming to me with all of your heart, with fasting with weeping and with mourning until every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship is restored. Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil when His conditions are met. Blow the trumpet in Zion! Set apart a fast, a day of restraint and humility; call a sollemn assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the congregation; assemble the elderly people, gather the children and the nursing infants; let the Bridegroom go forth from His chamber and the bride out of her closet. Joel 2