Letters From Leavers

I was first touch by God when I was 12 years old, then a few years later I encountered the Holy Spirit and my walk with God took to a new dimension. One day while reading my Bible i came across Paul’s letter to the Galations and I read His instruction to walk in the Spirit. Immediately those words came alive and jumped off the page. God was giving me a glimpse of a place in Him where we could walk in victory. From that moment forward my heart yearned for something more of God. I use to sit in the Sunday service and feel fed after I heard the message, but now I was unsatisfied — I hungered for more, but had no idea which way to turn. I was looking for bread crumbs.

I began to visit other churches thinking that I may be more satisfied somewhere else. I could not find the trail out of the woods. No matter which way I turned i felt lost and could not satisfy my hunger. Then I noticed a sister in my church who seemed to have a more substantial walk with God. I was drawn to the life I sensed in her. A shortly time later she quit attending our church. She said that God had called her out of the system. This was twenty years before George Barna’s Revolution so this was a very unusal move for all of us to watch. One sister asked, “Dorothy, were do you go when you leave the church?” Dorothy replied, “You go to Him.”

A few months later my path started crossing with others who had left the institutional church in persuit of God. They all came from a variety of backgrounds, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal. I was astounded because they were all speaking the same things! The only time I had experienced this kind of seeing eye to eye was when I met someone who was from the same denomination as I had come from. I realzed that each of these folks were speaking the same things because they were each sitting under the same teacher, the Holy Spirit!

It wasn’t long before I found the trail of bread crumbs leading me to this group of outcasts. When we prayed and fellowshiped together I found that I was satisfied spiritually. I was hearing from god and His word was being confirmed in my life! This was the beginning of my journey into a deeper place. At first I wondered why others could not see there was more and why they were satisfied with just being good folk, saying amen while the pastor preached and attending church three times a week.

That was over thirty years ago. Since then I have experience many ups and down, but overall I have seen God reveal Himself in my life as I have sought to follow Him. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within us, yet we continue to look outward, replacing what is real with religious information. I am so grateful that God continues to reveal Himself to those who hear His call. We still see through a glass darkly, but little by little we are recognizing His life in us and we are starting to see Him as He is. If we follow the bread crumbs we will learn to listen to the the still small voice within, as the Holy Spirit reveals the life of Jesus Christ in us.

Douglas B. Clark
www.theinwardjourney.net
http://feed.theinwardjourney.net