Our God Is Many Things

Just back from a weekend away with Ruchill Church where I used to work. It's the first time I've led a whole weekend away for another congregation and though it was a lot of work, it went well and I was really blessed by the experience. We went to the Atholl Centre in Pitlochry and enjoyed a couple of days of worship and banter and catching up; warm fellowship despite the blizzards outside!

We were looking at the theme "God is Closer Than You Think" picking up on the John Ortberg book of the same name.

On the Friday evening I ripped off an idea I'd read in a book by Adrian Plass and got them to write a poem (though they didn't know that's what they were doing!). I asked them to complete this sentence anonymously and as honestly as they could.. "At this moment, for me, God is......"
I then arranged their responses in an order which sounded poetic and drew out how differently people were experiencing God in that moment.

Here is the result - it's called "Our God Is Many Things". Please forgive the gendered language if it annoys you.

OUR GOD IS MANY THINGS

Our God is many things…..
He is leading me, keeping me going, shaping me.
He is planning, working and answering.
He’s getting closer to me and my heart.
He’s distant in my life, and not an active participant.
He’s goading me.

Our God is many things…..
He’s huge; he’s good.
He’s waiting.
He’s in everything.
He’s not immediate.
He’s difficult to talk to.
He’s hard to understand.

Our God is many things….
He’s beginning to get closer.
He’s wanting me to be closer and deeper.
He’s near, but I need to stop more and enjoy his presence.
He’s a gracious friend on whose friendship I presume too much.
He’s someone I know I should experience, but life takes over and I’m not motivated enough to love.

Our God is many things….
He’s constant, despite my feelings.
He’s wanting me to draw near to him.
He’s what I most want.
He’s available, but I don’t seem to be interested.
He’s squeezed in at the end of the day;
there, but not the focus.

Our God is many things….
He’s getting closer by the minute.
He’s a great God who has done wonderful things.
He’s unfathomable.
He’s not a priority.

He’s very close to me.
He’s the furthest he’s ever been.

Our God is Many Things.

I'll reflect on what that reveals in my next post