Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

The Wild Goose Chase: Detours
11.02.05
Pastor Mark Batterson






This evotional concludes The Wild Goose Chase series. For a free subscription to the Theaterchurch.com podcast, visit www.theaterchurch.com. Also visit Pastor Mark's daily blog @ www.evotional.com.

In case you missed the first two weeks of this series, let me put a frame around The Wild Goose Chase. The Celtic Christians had a great name for the Holy Spirit. They called him the Wild Goose. It sounds a little sacrilegious at first earshot, but what a great description of what it's like trying to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. It feels like a Wild Goose chase. When you chase the Wild Goose you never know who you'll meet, where you'll go, or what you'll do.

Divine Appointments

Acts 1 starts off with a dozen dysfunctional disciples. Acts 28 ends with the gospel spreading throughout the ancient world. In between you've got a bunch of wild goose chases. One of them is recorded in Acts 27-28. Let me set the scene.

Paul is on his way to Rome. He is sailing on a co-opted military vessel as a prisoner of the Imperial Regiment. To make a long story short, they were pretty much seasick the entire time. They hit headwinds which take them off course. They encounter a typhoon. And they experienced gale force winds that almost capsize their ship. It was rough sailing all the way. In the middle of the storm Paul prophesied that they would shipwreck on an island but no one would lose their life. That's exactly what happens. Acts 28:1 says,

Once we were safely ashore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us and warm us. As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, drive out by the heat, fastened itself onto his hand. The people of the island saw it hanging there and said to each other, "A murderer, no doubt! Tough he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live."

Let me stop right there.

Put yourself in Paul's wet shoes. What a day! Not only does he almost lose his life in a shipwreck. He gets bit by a poisonous snake. When was the last time you had both of those things happen on the same day? If I'm Paul I'm throwing my arms in the air. Alright already! This can't be the way it ends. Against all odds I survive the shipwreck. And now I'm going to die from a poisonous snakebite. Just great!

It sure seems like bad luck doesn't it?

But look at what happens:

But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and thought he was a god.

Shipwrecks and snakebites are right at the top of my list of things I never want to experience! But sometimes it sometimes God uses shipwrecks and snakebites to strategically position us in the right place at the right time.

A few weeks ago we looked at Acts 17. Paul walks into the Areopagus and shares the gospel with some of the most brilliant philosophical minds in the ancient world. A member of the council named Dionysius ends up putting his faith in Christ. Paul planted spiritual seeds that undoubtedly reaped an even greater harvest. And I made an observation: Athens wasn't on Paul's itinerary. It was a delay. But Paul redeemed the delay and turned it into a divine appointment.

Let me make an observation: Malta wasn't on Paul's itinerary. It wasn't their destination. It was a detour! But sometimes those things that we consider delays and detours are actually God's way of getting us where He wants us to go!

The Ultimate Insider

Acts 28:7 says,

Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us courteously and fed us for three days. As it happened, Publius' father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him. Then all the other sick people on the island came and were cured. As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people put on board all sorts of things we would need for the trip.

Let me zoom out and make an observation: there is no way Paul and Publius should have ever met. I'm pretty sure that if Paul had mailed a letter requesting an audience with Publius it would have ended up in the garbage. It took a unique set of circumstances for Paul and Publius to cross paths. But God has a way of orchestrating meetings with important people in high places. And it's still happening!

Three weeks ago, an NCCer picked up the Sunday edition of the Washington Post and read a story about human trafficking in Uganda. The government is trying to combat it with chastity scholarships, but little girls are being lured into a life of sexual slavery.

Hold that thought.

This NCCer has been on a wild goose chase the last year. He has a well-establish law practice in town, but he started feeling like God was calling him to make movies.

So three weeks ago he read this story about Uganda and he had an idea. The next day he and his wife googled Uganda. They discovered a film school that was taking a trip to Uganda to shoot documentaries. This NCCer applied for the trip. He told the professor that he had absolutely no experience whatsoever. The professor said, "Because you told me the truth you can come." In less than a week he got shots and a VISA. He is in Kampala, Uganda right now!

The story would be amazing enough if it ended there, but I've got to add one footnote. One week before going he was invited to a film industry party. He didn't want to go. There was too much to do before he left and he was too tired. But his wife felt like he needed to be there. In fact, she prayed that he'd make one significant contact. Call me crazy, but if you're headed to Uganda to shoot a documentary film I'd say the Ambassador of Uganda is a significant contact!

Go God.

He's at this party telling a woman about his trip and she introduces him to the Ambassador of Uganda who is a Christ follower. In fact, she was an assistant pastor before being appointed ambassador! This NCCer went to the Ugandan embassy and met with the Ambassador the next day.

What do you think would have happened if this NCCer had called and requested an appointment? There is no way! You can't man-u-facture that kind of meeting! I love what the wife of this NCCer said when she emailed me: "Jesus Christ is the ultimate Washington insider!"

Jesus is the ultimate Washington insider now. He was the ultimate Malta insider then. God is in the business of making sure we meet the right people at the right time.

You may feel like you're experiencing a delay or detour. Maybe DC wasn't on your itinerary. Maybe you feel like your career is a shipwreck. Or maybe you've been snake bitten in a relationship. I'm not saying those are good things. But a guy who survived a shipwreck and snakebite on the same day once said that "all things work together for good to love who love God and called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). He wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And he wrote out of personal experience!

As long as you're chasing the Wild Goose, God is going to make sure you meet the right people at the right place at the right time! There are relationships and opportunities that you can't man-u-facture. But if you chase the wild goose, God will get you where He wants you to go. He is in the business of setting up divine appointments with ambassadors and chief officials.

Wind Factor

I think that is what Jesus was saying in John 3:8: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

A few months ago our family was flying home from Orlando, Florida and our plane got grounded. The pilot informed us that the wind was blowing above the legal limit of thirty knots. He said, "We're waiting for the wind speed to dip to twenty-nine knots." Of course, that gave all the passengers a tremendous sense of confidence! There are some things you don't want to know!

I couldn't help but think of the incongruity of the situation. Here we were sitting in a Boeing 737 aircraft with twin CFM56-3-B2 engines that would take us to a cruising speed of 509 mph. We were about to defy the law of gravity. The technology that goes into flight is a marvel, but there wasn't a thing we could do about the wind! Wind is unpredictable and uncontrollable. You can't stop it from blowing! Wind will be wind. It's the wind factor.

How did Paul end up on Malta? Wind factor.

Acts 27:3 says, "We encountered headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course." Acts 27:7 says, "The wind was against us so we sailed down to the leeward side of Crete." Acts 27:13 says, "A light wind began blowing from the south." Acts 27:14 says, "The weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (a 'northeaster,' they called it) caught the ship and blew it out to sea." Acts 27:15 says, "The couldn't turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gate." And Acts 27:18 says, "Gale-force winds continued to batter the ship."

You get the point. Headwinds. Gale-force winds. A northeaster. A light wind from the south. The wind seems to be destroying them and detouring them. But the wind gets Paul to the place where God wants him to go.

Remember what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 3:8? "The wind blows wherever it pleases." In other words, you can't control it. "You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

We want to know exactly where we're going and exactly when we'll get there. But it's not that simple. Sometimes it seems like the wind is pushing us "off course." Sometimes it seems like a shipwreck. But we've got to believe that the Holy Spirit is in control even when we're seasick. There is a wind factor we can't control or predict.

Shipwrecks

Call me crazy, but some of the most enlightening and inspiring parts of the Bible are in the appendix. Turn to the back of your Bible and look at a map of Paul's missionary journeys. Malta is in the southwest corner. It was a detour. Malta wasn't on Paul's itinerary. It took a shipwreck to get Paul to Malta. But sometimes it takes a shipwreck to keep you on course. Sometimes it takes a shipwreck and a snakebite to get you where God wants you to go!

I'm not suggesting we sabotage ourselves. Don't put a hole in the bottom of your boat. Don't play with poisonous snakes. But God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. It often seems like the wrong place at the wrong time! But give is some time. See what happens. God may use this delay or this detour in ways you never imagined. That is really the story of Scripture.

The prison sure seemed like a detour to Joseph. But God used it to position Joseph as prime minister of Egypt. The lion's den sure seemed like a detour to Daniel. But God used it to position Daniel as Prime Minister of Babylon.

For that matter, the cross seemed a detour. The Via Dolorosa seemed like a wrong turn for three days. But God turned that detour into the road to salvation.

Zigzag

In their book Repacking Your Bags, Richard Leider and David Shapiro say, "Life is not meant to be linear. The path from birth to death is not a straight-line journey; it's a zigzag."

I think part of us wants a linear life. But once you get a linear life you realize that it's the zigzags where you're really alive.

I had an interesting conversation with a friend last week who started a company about a year ago. He is also a tenured professor at a highly-esteemed University. He is actually giving up his tenured position to pursue this entrepreneurial dream. One thing he said was so interesting to me. He said he could look on the tenure chart and know exactly how much money he would make in fifteen years. It's all defined. He'd know exactly where he was going and exactly when he'd get there. But it was too defined.

There is a fine line between security and monotony! I don't think God offers us a linear life! He offers us a wild goose chase.

Resourceful

One of the most enjoyable books I've read in the last six months is titled Jump In by Mark Burnett. Burnett is the mastermind behind Survivor, The Contender, and The Apprentice. In one of the chapters he talks about his experience as a British commando during his twenties. His squadron leader would give them crazy assignments to test their level of resourcefulness.

Mark Burnett writes about one of his crazy assignments in the book. His platoon commander took away his insignia, his identification, and his money. Then he told him to travel two hundred miles to London and get the signature of the conductor of the London orchestra. He hitched a ride on a truck that got him to the outskirts of London. Then he hailed a cab. He said, "Look, you're gonna hate me, but I have no money. If you give me your name and address I promise to send you the fare when I get back to base."

Burnett got all the way to the concert hall and talked his way backstage. Then he knocked on the conductor's dressing room door only to discover that the conductor spoke Italian. The conductor was suspicious, but Burnett got his signature and made it back to base by morning.

Burnett says, "You can accomplish amazing things if you put aside your fear of rejection and Jump In."

Why the offbeat assignments? Why the bizarre tasks? The point of those exercises simple: be resourceful. Do whatever it takes. Failure is not an option.

I think we want everything planned out. And God loves giving us these offbeat assignments. Isn't that what Jesus did when he sent the disciples out on their first assignment in Luke 9? Listen to his instructions: "Don't even take along a walking stick, nor a traveler's bag, nor food, nor money. Not even an extra coat."

Sounds like a wild goose chase doesn't it? Sounds like He is testing their level of resourcefulness.

You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Or you can teach a man to fish and feed him for lifetime. It's resourcefulness. I think most of us want God to give us a fish. And God wants to teach us to fish. He wants us to develop spiritual resourcefulness.

What does all of that have to do with Paul? His missionary journeys were half-planned at best. He didn't know exactly where he was going or exactly when he'd get there. But he learned to chase the goose. He learned to redeem the time and recognize divine appointments.

Here is what God is ultimately after: trust.

Most of us want circumstances we can trust. God wants us to trust Him. It boils down to Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your paths."

Do you trust him even when the ship is sinking or the snake is biting?