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Old Geography Lessons

By Phillip Collier

I found myself driving down a straight, narrow road through acres of freshly plowed fields in rural Indiana. In the midst of the fields was a five-acre plot of bright green grass, upon which stood a stately Quaker meeting house that had been built of soft brick in 1874. I recognized the huge white sycamore trees that surrounded the building. Memories of teenage years flooded my mind as I approached the place where I had first trusted in Christ twenty-five years before, and with those memories the hope and peace I had felt during those years swept over me once again.

At the time, I was finding it difficult to trust the Lord. Because of some trying situations in my life and ministry I was doubting, at least on an emotional level, whether God was still active in my life. The growing financial burdens from my education were beginning to overwhelm me. The many demands on my time and energy were only exacerbating the ever present temptation to be selfish rather than self-giving. I was experiencing the doubts and anxieties of many men who enter their mid-life years, questioning my call and personal abilities.

It was so easy in my younger years to commit my life to Christ, but something had changed. Had I strayed away from the Lord? Or had I merely forgotten the basic lessons that had informed my then uncluttered life? How could I recapture the vision, the courage, and the enthusiasm of my youthful years?

I took my spiritual journal and a pen into the musty sanctuary. After praying and reading hymns from the books I had held as a teenager, I recorded all the thoughts and attitudes I could remember from the years I had attended that church. When I was younger I had desired nothing but to serve and please God. Some of my attitudes were rooted in emotional immaturity and naiveté, but they were still a part of what made it easy for me to trust the Lord.

After listing the attitudes and beliefs from years ago, I compared them with my present attitudes and beliefs. As the Holy Spirit guided my thinking, I corrected some assumptions from the past that had hindered me to the present day. Just as important, I recalled some valuable lessons from years ago that I had forgotten.

One of eight lessons came as I remembered finding some valuable Indian relics in the fields surrounding the church building. As a teenager, l desired so much to place God first in my life that I gave those relics away after I had enjoyed them for a time. By giving them away, I was giving another person happiness, and I was not allowing material things to distract me from finding joy in my relationship with Christ.

As a middle-aged adult, worrying about career and retirement, trying to find resources for all the demands being made on my time, talent, and wealth, I had forgotten the joys of giving and living a simple life. When I renewed my intent to find joy in Christ alone, anxiety and resentment began to subside. After only a few hours, I found much encouragement and direction, and returned home with more hope.

There is precedent in Scripture for marking places where God has met with humans. Biblical writers often included geography in their writings because they wanted to recall specific times and places where God had acted to reveal His truth, His attributes, or His will. Some places, such as Bethel (house of God) or Peniel (face of God) were even named for what had happened there. After a failure of faith in Egypt, Jacob's life was put back on track when he returned to Bethel, where God had met with him before. Elijah, exhausted and afraid, heard God encourage him at Mt. Carmel, where God was known to have spoken with others in Biblical history.

Perhaps you are feeling weary, or frustrated, or your hope is weak. Can you recall a time and place that God seemed closer? A prayerful time in that place might be helpful.

Here are ten observations I made about my attitudes as a youth. Since these made it easy to serve God with all my heart, I found ways to make them meaningful to my present life and ministry.

1. Choices were much simpler, because God's will was all there was to do.

2. It was easier to make sacrifices, because I knew I had so little to give.

3. I was not in a hurry, so I was less impatient.

4. I had good dreams about my future with God.

5. I did not let what other people said affect me negatively.

6. I felt protected (by my parents and by God).

7. I found prayer deeply meaningful and the most important thing I could do with my time.

8. I did not feel that I was in competition with anyone.

9. I was deeply convinced of the sovereignty and power of God, and therefore His ability to work in my life, and in the life of the church.

10. I believed that I was able to do anything I was required to do, with the help of God.

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