Tahiti Waves – After The Splash
A storm near Tahiti sent waves across 4,100 miles of ocean to splash on the rocks of Point Mugu. This pictures was taken by Pastor John on July 23, 2009 ©
“The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?” Ecclesiastes 6:11
When a member of our family of faith goes into the hospital we all want to pray for her/him. Often we want to know what is wrong. In my younger days as a pastor I would share what we thought the diagnosis was (with permission of the patient) and that word would spread quickly around the church. Then a few days or weeks later, we would have to send out a correction as the doctors truly discerned what was happening. For instance, brother “so and so” would go into the hospital with chest pains, and we would start praying for his heart to be healed, then a few days later we learned that it wasn’t it his heart at all, but a gall bladder problem.
So now when someone asks what is wrong, I tell them (with permission of the patient) what the symptoms are but then say we will know a few days what is really happening.
The above is a example of unfiltered and filtered information. Unfiltered information is often speculative, rumored, and susceptible to being interpreting in the shadows of our worst fears. Filtered information, in contrast, has been analyzed, carefully tested, and thus is helpful to us.
We currently live in a world where we are inundated with unfiltered information. Listening to 24 hour news channels and surfing the Internet for news and receiving conspiratorial emails from “well meaning” friends give us the illusion that we are in the knowledgeable. However, this feeding frenzy of news is really nothing more then chaos.
For our wonderfully created minds often seek patterns in chaos (Like when you look at clouds and see a familiar object.) and give us the false assumption of knowledge/wisdom. Just turn on talk radio or watch any of the taking heads on 24 hour news channels and you will hear so called experts spouting off about current events. Almost all the time their wisdom is not any greater then as if they were seeing a cow in the clouds.
Being people of faith, we realize wisdom comes from being patient, thoughtful, and full investigating a situation. We do not jump to conclusions! Thus we can step away from the chaos, and patiently wait for filtered or wise discernment that comes from being still and prayerful before God.
Sitting on on the shore at sunset, watching Tahiti Waves splash on the rocks of Point Mugu takes me away from the information chaos, gives my mind a rest, and allows time for prayer. These are times when I my find my faith growing in One who holds the future. Trusting in God is what truly makes you wise.
Peace,
Pastor John