Today shows us a great truth about faith as a Christian, and about the journey we tall take in our spiritual development.  Paul is preaching and teaching these folks and everything is going well, and then this silversmith realizes that this is going to change everything for him - the majority of his income is derived from making idols for worship, idols for their god Artemis.  And upon realizing this, he starts to create an up-roar to try to save his way of life.  Everyone follows, and Luke records in several instances that the people were in a state of confusion.  Why were they confused?  It seems apparent that their confusion comes from a tension that they feel, and that I think we all feel at some point in our spiritual journey - it is a tension between a feeling of safety and a feeling of calling.  It is a tension between comfort and growth.

Here is the thing, sometimes we are going to be called out of our comfort, of our own free will, to follow where God wants to lead us.  Sometimes God forces us into a mode of growth, whether it is by way of a positive or a negative life event, a season of struggle or a season of success; but sometimes (at least in my experience) we feel more of a subtle tug from God, an invitation to willingly take a step in His direction.  Sometimes I think He wants to see how faith-filled we are by lobbing something out there and testing whether or not we’ll respond.   In my experience, that is the time that we find out ‘whose’ we really are...when we find out whose agenda we really value.

I know I have failed that test many times.  I know I have fallen on my face many times.  I also know, from experience, that positive responses to those nudges leads to a heightened sensitivity to God’s calling; said another way, when I respond to the most obvious opportunities, my spiritual muscles develop, my ability to recognize God’s presence grows, and I tend to see more if His work in my life.  I tend to start to notice His nudges a little better.

Today’s reading reminds me how NOT to respond - Demetrius goes on offense against God.  That is the worst choice.  I am a simple person, so I kind of picture this like a multiple-choice deal, where we have (A) as ‘reject God’s calling and go on offense against Him, (B) as pause, listen, and look for some more clarifying signals, and (C) just go all-in.  I would say that, at a minimum, we should be working to move from (A) to (B) in our lives...that when we feel a nudge, we need to start by trying to catch ourselves before we react from our gut and just pause, pray, and sit with that nudge for a bit - waiting to see if God will give us some clarity.

And that’s my prayer today...that I would have the presence of mind to stop, to wait, to take a deep breath when I feel a little nudge in the back of my mind about a decision I am about to make, and to invite God into that decision, allowing a little time to see if/how God might speak into my life.  In doing so, I hope to train myself to do THAT reflexively, and that I would really God’s presence deepening in my life.