An Inkling
Does God speak to us today? The testimony of the scripture has been borne out in my own experience: indeed he does. Occasionally he bowls us over with a visionary experience or an audible voice. But most of the time he speaks in a way that only a faith-enlivened attentiveness recognizes.
Chic Silver told me about such an experience earlier this week. He is preparing to go with our group to Kazakhstan, to visit Interlink, our ministry there with orphans. As he was praying about what he is to do there, he felt a warm sense of God’s presence, and had the impression that he is to spend his time in Shymkent with Dr. Laurie, one of our ministry partners. About that time he looked out the window and four geese flew over.
Geese? And the point is what?... Several months before Chic had read about how the early Celtic Christians thought of the Holy Spirit not as a dove, but as a wild goose. Chic said he’d been pondering on how you can’t tame wild geese, but if you listen to their haunting call, they’ll take you on an adventure. One day, when he had first read about the wild goose image, he was running late to catch a flight at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. He offered one of those quick prayers that airports inspire, “Lord, please help me make my flight,” and just then he saw a goose fly over his head. You guessed it, the plane was delayed just enough for him to make his flight. And he’s had an eye out for wild geese ever since!
Call it coincidence if you will. All I know is that God is into coincidences. The Anglican Archbishop William Temple once said, “When I pray coincidences happen, and when I don’t they don’t.”
I like the image of the wild goose. The Spirit is anything but tame, and yet he is faithful to give us some signs along the way. A chase to follow God’s promptings, complete with such signs – that is an adventure worth pursuing. And it gives a whole new meaning to “wild goose chase” – from a chase with no purpose, to a chase with high purpose. When our team returns from Kazakhstan, I’ll be eager to hear how the chase played out – and whether there were any “goose” sightings.
Blessings,
Keith
