Tucson, AZ 2007: What happened? Out of gas? Dead battery? Overheated? The questions ran the gamut as Trent Ling tussled with losing his mojo in Christ when it came to one particularly important but common matter. Come to find out, the Bible was happening...
From Trent Ling:
I fear that this letter is not for everybody. It is cryptic, ungraspable, and must be read several times. If I were to water it down for everybody, it would lose its spiritual nutrition and diminish God’s glory. I write as compelled. I understand that this is not always appreciated. What can I do?
I am the opposite of a mastermind! Essentially, I have bumbled and stumbled my way into the truth while being graciously equipped from heaven with the ability to recognize the truth. Such is always the flavor of my answer to the question, “How did it come together for you?”
“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14.
Accordingly, I am in awe today. I was fortunate enough to perceive and palpably experience the heretofore inexpressible and inexplicable works of the heavenly realm. Of course, by faith I know that that domain never rests. God works hard for my good, but rarely troubles me with the overwhelming details or with front row seats at the factory. But, today, I found myself privy to one remarkable celestial transaction.
It’s been an especially increasingly saddening couple of weeks for me. Ministering the Word as called while trying to manage the reactions, hearts, minds, and frailties of others, produces neither marketable art nor clean science. It’s just raw ministry. The details of this are not a secret, but shall not be outlined here, as they would only distract this letter.
In Christ, I am foolish enough to undertake rolling sequences of great projects (Ecclesiastes 2:4) as if these just leisurely coast off the assembly lines. In actuality, God cranks out the work while I am generally little more than steeped in astonishment.
However, uncharacteristically, there is a particular project “opportunity” (received by revelation as usual) with which I have grappled for the past ten years. The nature and specifics of the project are not a secret, but they also are not important for purposes of this letter. In actuality, the project is not anything beyond what lost worldly people undertake every day. It is not any more complicated than a project of setting a budget or a schedule; mapping a workable spiritual plan to gain vocational freedom; or grappling sincerely and eagerly with the perpetual question, “What am I doing?”
Even for the past five years, the project sat dormant despite being upgraded from “opportunity” to “likelihood.” For the past two years, it had graduated to “need” status, fitted with a plan, a beginning, and even an actual paltry commencement twenty months ago. However, despite Category 4 relevance, progress had eluded me. I had succumbed to a long-standing lack of traction, power, and progress in it. Unlike the grace-enriched tenor of the balance of my undeserved life in Christ, I had seen nothing approaching consummation or resolution in it. Not one to yield easily, I had greased the effort with excess time and money, committed to it with mountainous conviction and mathematical green lights. However, until today, none of these spiritually infrastructural efforts had resulted in anything! Zip, nada, nol, nyet! Meanwhile, tick tock, tick tock…
So, what happened today?
For a myriad of possible reasons (which also will not be addressed here) unbeknownst to me, God had long-ago seen fit to send an opposing angel in my path to ensure that I garnered no progress in this ordinary project effort. Today, I have humbling fellowship with the dubious prophet, Balaam. He also proceeded in his customary way, unaware that an opposing angel stood in his path. Numbers 22:21-35. However, with such typical mercy shown to me, God did not send to me an angel with a drawn sword (as he did with Balaam). Rather, my angel wielded some sort of immovable yet spiritually lenient force field bumper system, creating some sort of no-fly zone just ten feet past the starting line.
However, today, concerning this project, God commanded His steadfast and dutiful angel to stand down and yield to me with my muddied and overheated spiritual tires still churning. The command from heaven and clearance on the freeway were unmistakable. It marked the first time in my 19 years in Christ that I was left with no explanation other than the movements of an angel.
I freely confess some fear and doubt about a possible angelic return “to position” at God’s behest. I have enjoyed this day of marked liberty. It’s not that I fear being under wraps for God if such is God’s will. In the event I find the angel back at his traditional post tomorrow, I suppose I would have to consider why God would return and wreak stoppage at any of my intersections. As I have become acutely sensitive to any handover from heaven related to my sinful nature, I must similarly become a tender disciple in matters of heavenly traffic brought to bear even against my efforts purported to serve God. I suppose it is one successful way that God can elicit and ultimately extract His priorities from my life.
Today, without even petitioning, pushing, or trying, this ground-down project launched forward, going seemingly instantaneously from zero to several hundred miles per hour. After two years of mostly spinning wheels, exhausting myself, and seeing time pressures mount by the day, I am relieved with touches of both giddiness and sobriety.
I must acknowledge God’s wonderful mercy to me in opposing me with an angel rather than by giving me over to sin (with which I am already way too well-versed). Perhaps such “new” approaches from heaven come to bear on matters involving long-term learning with necessarily soft curves. To be honest, I hardly expect ever to understand fully what God has been seeking in this very patient lesson. However, I am as eager as ever to learn and share what I can.
Please join me and ask why the angels are not standing down when it comes to your life. As an example, I have many dear brothers. Some I have understandingly yet alarmingly called my “Wet Paper Bag” brothers. They oftentimes seem unable to break out of the wet paper bag of their lives in order to accomplish even menial, non-mountainous tasks for God. Feeling some of their pain over 10-5-2 years, and just one day into freedom, I have renewed hope for their escape and emancipation. Perhaps they also have a delegated angel postured as an unyielding traffic cop with uplifted hand successfully impeding their progress and efforts in task, project, and life.
Certainly, moved in heart, God can and would call that angel off your case at any time He so desires. “He will command his angels concerning you…” Luke 4:10. Perhaps, as with Jesus, God will get what He really seeks in you (and me) and command his angels to stand down. Thereupon, you’ll saunter down the street triumphantly as you had originally intended.
May we somehow add this letter to our considerations as we make efforts to overcome long-standing and puzzling strongholds and obstacles on this narrow road of life that is truly life.
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