Here's Your Sign?

If you've been reading this blog (which I'm sure millions of you have been), you know that I'm kinda in transition. I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life. This morning I was reading in Matthew and ran across verse 39 of chapter 12. It reads, "But Jesus replied, 'Only an evil, faithless generation would ask for a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.'"

At this particular time Jesus was talking about how many of the Pharisees wanted Jesus to prove he was from God. While I will admit I am taking a bit of liberty with the verse, I think it applies to many of us even if we belief He is from God. How often do we pray for direction and then ask for a sign? How often to we ask God for a sign that what we are doing is right?

I'm not saying that God isn't in the sign business. I believe that I could walk into my bedroom 5 minutes from now and there, plastered on the wall, could be a huge sign saying "Michael, do X. Love, God" It could happen! But ya know, when I read this verse I was reminded that faith is so important. God doesn't create faith with signs. That is evidence. We have faith because we need no evidence. Faith is action on our part in the absence of evidence. God may not tell me "Michael do X". He might not tell me anything, but I might very well do X, or Y, or Z, or whatever. As long as I have faith that God will direct my path, I don't need signs. If I have faith that God knows what is best for me, even if I step out in faith and do the wrong thing, God will bring me back to exactly where he wants me.

So often when people are making big decision, I hear them say, "I don't want to make the wrong decision. I want to do what God wants me to do." Right before I committed to come get my Ph.D. I said those very words. A very wise friend said, "Michael, no matter what decision you make, even if you make the wrong one, God is big enough to fix it." She had faith in God's plan for me while I was stuck looking for signs. I am so thankful for her and her wisdom. I need to remember to approach life like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying go willy nilly, do whatever you want to and God will fix it. I'm saying that God doesn't sit around with a remote control directing our every movements through some sort of signal to us. I think a lot of times, He wants to see what we can do with our faith, so He puts us on autopilot.

So, that's just a little note to myself about how I need to have faith in God. Don't wait. Go. Do. Step out onto the water.

9/11 and Beyond

Today is the seventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks on America. There are many blogs out there expressing their feelings, veiws, etc. Here is a post about the events. Here is another, and another. Not to be outdone by some of my favorite blogs, I will give my two cents.

On September 11, 2001 I was a twenty year old college sophomore at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. That day was a special one for the university. We were inaugurating a new university president. The inauguration began in the morning. I, being a college student, rolled out of my dorm room right before the inauguration and strolled to chapel for the event. While standing in line to get in (we got double chapel credits that day) I heard some other students talking about a plane that hit the World Trade Center. I figured it was just a small single-pilot type of plane. I wish I would have been right.

I knew I was wrong at the moment the ceremony started. All the professors were in the academic regalia up on stage surrounded by other special guests who were there to mark the occasion. We did not open with prayer for the ceremony at hand. Instead, we opened with prayer for our nation, New York, and the Pentagon. It was then, in the midst of the prayer that I received the news of what had happened. It was an understatement to say that the ceremony was not as enjoyable as most had hoped. When it ended, I immediately ran back to my dorm to watch the news.

I remember the events like it was yesterday. I remember President Bush from Florida saying "Freedom has been attacked by faceless cowards, and freedom will be defended." I remember President Bush on top of the firetruck with the bullhorn speaking to the workers. I remember seeing people run as clouds of debris flew towards them. I remember seeing replays of those planes flying into buildings and seeing people jump from the top of the buildings. I still get teary-eyed. I still remember.

On September 10th, 2001, I was a Criminal Justice major who knew NOTHING about politics. On September 11th, 2001, I was glued to the TV for hours on end watching 24 hour news networks. I remembering asking a friend shortly after 9/11 what the differences were between liberals and conservatives. That's how naive I was about the world around me.

I was to graduate in 2003 with a degree in Criminal Justice, so that I could go be a law enforcement officer somewhere. After 9/11, things changed. I double majored in Spanish (hoping it would help me get a job in federal law enforcement or into a grad school). I read and read and read about politics, especially terrorism, and soon I founded a branch of a state-wide political organization on campus. I had stepped into the world of politics from which I haven't turned back. After I graduated in 2004 (a year later than planned), I went and began graduate school in Washington D.C. in the subject of Defense & Strategic Studies. I was even lucky enough to work at a think tank that studied strategic defense issues. I was a small town boy, in the big city. That was something I hadn't planned (I had once said I would never live anywhere but Texas). After completing my master's degree, I moved back to Texas to work on my Ph.D. in Political Science; the very subject that I was clueless on on September 10, 2001. And, for a bonus, I met my wife while working on my Ph.D. in that once-mysterious subject

I know not what God has in store for me, but I would be lying if I thought it was to be ordinary. I truly believe that God has led me to this point so that I can do something great. I think he has given me a passion for politics, especially foreign policy, for a reason. I just wish I knew what it was. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me to be president. I think he wants me in a think tank or something similar.

September 11th did something for almost everyone. There are a lot of political implications of that day for the nation and globe. Some I agree with, some I don't. Those implications are beyond the scope of this post. For me, 9/11 changed the path of my life. It even led me to the city where I found my wife. I think it's safe to say that 9/11 changed the outcome of things in my life not yet done, seen, or thought of.

I continue to pray for healing for those who lost on that day. I also pray for our country, our leaders, and those who serve at home and abroad. I hope that you do the same.

God bless.