I’m going to be upfront about this post. It was inspired by one of my pastors. I might stealing part of the background from him. His sermon had a different point and his was much more spiritual and uplifting. I don’t feel too bad about this and As Steve Jobs said, “Good artists copy. Great ones steal.”
Poof. An angel of the Lord popped out of nowhere and startled Philip. The man looked around to see if anyone else had noticed it. Apparently, he was on his own. The spiritual being looked Philip right in the eyes and said, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (Acts 8:26)
And the man went. Because an angel showed up and pulled the “God said so” card. I guess I’d obey too. He marched right out into the desert to a highway that saw just a handful of travelers each day. The place was mostly dust, wind and plenty of sun. Its inhabitants were lizards and dry, desert plants. It’s likely that a couple of other carriages or even men on horseback had passed by the evangelist. He didn’t feel particularly compelled to speak to any of them, so he waited, sweated and likely wished he’d brought lunch and more water. He wondered if the angel who’d sent him out to this moisture-forsaken place would show up any time soon.
Finally, in the heat of the day, Philip saw another carriage in the distance.Wait- maybe it was just the heat playing a trick on his eyes. No, it truly was a carriage. And it was nice. And it wasn’t moving very fast at all. Just as he’d done with the others, Phillip waited. He needed to be told why he was out here. Also, moving made him sweat more and he was already gross.
The low rumble of wheels and hoofs on rock and dirt grew as the travelers approached. Philip sat, waiting to hear something. Desiring to get on with whatever plan The Almighty had conjured. It wasn’t until the carriage was slowly passing the man that the Spirit told him, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” (Acts 8:29) Because that’s not creepy anywhere, especially out in the middle of nowhere.
Apparently, the eunuch wasn’t displeased with the man who could have been a highway robber, because as we all know, the story ends with him inviting the evangelist into his carriage, hearing about Jesus and getting baptized. Then, as if the story wasn’t good enough, God plucked Philip up out of the desert and dropped him in a town called Azotus.
And that boys and girls, is what your life is like when you obey God.
What? You haven’t been transported anywhere?
You probably have sin in your life.
Obedience actually isn’t my point. My concern about this story is that first, an angel spoke to Philip, telling him to go out into the heat where he might die. Then, the spirit spoke to the man. My question is, when does The Almighty choose one avenue for communication instead of another? I have speculated on this…
1- Philip was preaching and judging sorcerers in Samaria. He was busy. And busy people can’t listen well. So, God sent an angel to talk to the man. Once he was out in the desert, where he was clearly less distracted, Philip would be able to hear the Lord better.
2- God was serious. This eunuch was a really super important part of God’s plan for Ethiopia, so he needed a face-to-face conversation with Philip. Oh, but God’s face kills people. Better send the angel. Once Philip was out there, the tough part was over and the Spirit could take care of it.
3- We talk ourselves out of scary things. Philip likely wouldn’t want to go out to the desert, because that’s crazy. So, instead of talking to the evangelist via divine telepathy, which he might be able to reason his way out of, God sent one of His winged minions. Because we can’t convince ourselves that an experience like that was because we were bored with life or hungry.
I’m not convinced any of those is great. I’m super busy, but God never sends an angel to catch my attention. But His face would kill me. I guess I do hear Him better when I’m intentional about it, but The Almighty kind of just busts in whenever He wants, whether or not an angel knocks on the door first.
Hilarious post! Although from a serious side I suspect that the Father that is the power behind all living and non living things on this planet, He can pretty much use anything He wants… Storms, fire, rain, His spirit, His angels, a talking donkey, prophets, crickets, and the words of one another… It always does come down to be a matter of the heart, doesn’t it?
Thank you, friend. I’m a big fan of the words of another person, because I think that one is pretty common. But you’re right. He can use anything and everything. Which makes it all the more fun!
Wait. You mean to tell me you don’t get visited by angels or teleported where God wants you to be?
You clearly don’t have enough faith.
Seriously though, I believe God speaks to each person in a way, or multiple ways, that is best for that person. For me, he tends to speak a lot to me in worship, when I write in my journal (definitely not often enough), and when I slow down and listen.
God’s about to teleport me over to kick your butt, but that’s about it. I’d agree and David said the same thing, that He likely caters (a little) to whatever way we’ll hear him. THAT SAID, I don’t think even in my most obstinate days He ever sent and angel. What a shame. Actually, no. I’ve seen too many super-spiritual books about experiences like that to take them seriously. Or I guess to share it with others if it ever did happen. Hmph. I’ll keep it to myself if it does. Minus the teleporting to kick your butt. You’ll know about that.
Not to leave a trite answer, but I think God communicates to us how we hear best. I have prayed for close to a decade demanding that God give me directions for my life because I believed He had one plan for my life and if I missed it then I wasted my one ride on this planet. He stayed silent for that decade. I’ve since come to believe that He lets us choose our path as long as that path is for His glory. If He had one plan for my life and so much hinged on it, then I believe that He would make Himself pretty frickin’ clear. Since He hasn’t I’m gonna do my best and hopefully have stories to share with Him when I get to the other side.
David, I believe your assessment is correct most of the time. I think every now and again, God likely steps outside of that to challenge or stretch us. Dr. Gary Smalley wrote,
God Speaks Your Love Language
or something to that effect. I want to believe it, but at the same time, I feel like he’s trying to ride the love language deal into glory, so I’m skeptical. 😉