Field of Dreams: God whispers

The scene begins with our main character who seems to be doing something that seems quite usual for him. Nothing out the ordinary, nothing strange. He is doing what he always does.
Then it happens......

"If you build it, He will come."

Build what? Build where?....
You see, much like our character, we want clear direction and clear purpose before we move into the unknown.
Over the last few year of my life, I have discovered how similarly God speaks. I've learned valuable lessons in discerning the voice of God, and although He seems cruel in His whispers, He really is showing you the utmost love.
God is not unprepared for what He is asking, we are. If He were to give us the full picture, the complete story; could we handle it? Would we even begin the journey? The question I believe He is seeking: Will you trust Him?
I learned for the first time in my life, how very little I did trust Him.
Waking up everyday, doing my ordinary life, living under the protection and provision of God, I never really needed to depend on God. I was trained from an early age to be a self-reliant. Depending on someone or some thing made you vulnerable to hurt and disappointment.
"If you want something done right, you might as well do it yourself," and I was content to lead my life the way I saw fit, just as long as I remember to play within the boundaries of morality.
February 5th, 1995, I realized for the first time I couldn't rely on my own ability to keep me from eternal separation from God. I needed Jesus Christ to be my advocate, and pay the price of eternal fellowship with God that I couldn't ever pay.
September 17th, 2011, was the day I heard the voice. I had been fed up with the life I was living. I wanted a life with purpose and meaning. So I did what any Bible believing Christian would do, I demanded that God giving me an audible word on what He wanted from me. Essentially, I came to the end of myself and told God I was done giving orders. My efforts were only producing empty successes and broken relationships.
I would love to tell you, the skies opened and a dove descended onto to my shoulder and a thunderous voice spoke from heaven, but what I heard was silence.
I was out for a midnight walk when I hoped for such a message, but even though I heard nothing, I began to feel an ease to the burdens that I carried.
A scripture verse came to my mind, but I couldn't quite remember it accurately, so I hurried inside and grabbed my Bible to hunt down the verse that escaped me.
I never found that verse, nor can I remember what it was, but I believe the verses I did find were the whispers of God.
When I began to see the pattern of the scriptures I then heard a voice well up from the depths of my heart. It said, "I've already told you what I want for your life, I even wrote it down for you, I will not repeat myself just so you will believe."
That's when I was left with no other choice. I could go back to the life that left me lifeless or I could take a step toward the will of God and truly live.
I want to recap the events that happened to Ray Kinsella, our main character, so below you will find it listed in bullet points. For me, the call to take up my cross and follow (Luke 9:23) has been exactly in line with Ray's call to build a baseball field.

"If you build it, He will come."

• the voice hits you when you least expect it

• question everything, nothing seems to make sense

• can't sleep, it consumes your thoughts

• you begin to feel a bit insane

• start to become irritable with the family, because you want concrete answers

• you feel very alone to what is happening or in your understanding

• when you tell people, they think you're nuts

• then it happens, you find the vision that has been nagging at your heart.

• nothing else seems to matter until you see that thing begin to take shape

• your spouse wants to be supportive, but she can't see what you see

• both of you begin to discuss how improbable that the voice could be real

• then it hits you....you've been living your life trying to find significance, only to find your significance could only be found by following the whisper. 

Don't wait to truly live. Call upon the name of the Lord and He will answer, but be quiet so you don't miss the whisper.

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind whipped the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire there was a still, small voice.  

1 Kings 19:11-12

It's almost time for pitchers and catchers to report!!

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Matthew 9:36-38

As a native of St. Louis, there are two things we learn early on; we are the "Gateway to the West" and Cardinal Baseball is a religion. Most people I meet who live outside of this great city don't feel baseball to be that exciting, unless of course you're playing.
For cities with a history like ours, the game of baseball created heroes and legends. We love the game so much, that many of us can remember what it sounded like to hear the crack of the bat for the first time, like it was yesterday. Or, we find ourselves at a barbecue with friends and we say things like, "these hot dogs are okay, but not like the ones at the ballpark."
In St. Louis, ballplayers aren't just ballplayers, they live where we live. They serve the community as if it were theirs to care for. Heck, we even celebrate our heritage with our local brewery, Anheuser-Busch. Not because their products hold together our city, but their part in the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball season opening day parade around the ballpark. The team of Clydesdales pulling the familiar delivery wagon to their theme can only mean one thing, for the next 162 games of the summer, our hearts will soar and fall with our beloved Redbirds.
Now the love of sport is not something foreign to the rest of the world, but in St. Louis, we feel nobody does it better. "Just try it once, and you'll never be the same," is what we always tell the naysayers.
You might say, "Big WOW, what's that got to do with Matthew 9:36-38?"
September 17, 2011, was the day I discovered how it was all linked. One of the traditions in my life is to celebrate the start of the baseball season by watching one of my favorite movies, "Field of Dreams." If you've never seen this movie, stop what you are doing right now and go watch it!!
For those of you who refuse, this movie has shaped much of what my next 5 blogs will be about. I know what you are thinking, BORING, but that's because you haven't been to a Cardinals game. See what I did there?
Seriously, the story is based on three characters, all of whom had tremendous pain in their lives. The first character we are introduced to is John Kinsella. John is the father of Ray Kinsella, and since John was in his fifties by the time Ray was born, I'm sure he was rather intolerant of his young son. Ray's mother died when he was three, so it was just him and Dad. Ray was your typical rebellious teen and did things in spite of his father, and when he chose his college, it was on the opposite coast.
Ray was a product of the 60's and John was shaped by World War I. Obviously, this was going to be strained.
John died early in the 70's and never got to see Ray grow as a father and husband, nor did he get to meet his granddaughter. Ray seemed to always feel the grief of this loss.
The third character we meet, is "Shoeless Joe" Jackson. Joe played major league baseball with the Chicago White Sox and in 1919 his team threw the World Series to win at gambling. This had Joe and seven other players banned from ever playing in the Majors again.
"Getting thrown out of baseball is like having a part of you amputated." says Jackson in the movie.
Needless to say, all three of our characters needed relief.
So what does all of this have to do with Matthew 9? I believe the movie "Field of Dreams" is the tale for all of us seeking for more to life than what we have.
In the next few posts, we will unpack what I think, is the typical journey of the believer. Just like with Ray in his cornfield, it all starts with a whisper. Except the whisper we hear is,

 "The harvest is great and the workers are few."