M-G: 11.4.16 // Have you asked God, Spiritualizing 101

During my college days, my roommate, a pastor’s son, was upset and worried that he couldn’t find his wallet. He couldn’t remember where he had set it down last, and asked me if I had seen it. After pillaging our room, he was exasperated and befuddled. I had a class coming up, and standing in the doorway I turned and asked him, “Had you asked God where your wallet was? He snickered, and said, “God isn’t interested in my wallet?” I responded by saying, “What do you have to lose?” I closed the door and was off to class.

Later that afternoon my roommate came back to the dormitory, and you could tell he wanted to say something. The first thing out of his mouth was this, “Michael, I took your suggestion and asked God where my wallet was, and He reminded me where I put it last!” You could tell he was relieved over finding his wallet and excited about God’s involvement in His life in something so trivial, mundane, and “secular” to him.

I replied, “That is great! You see; God is interested in every detail of our lives, not only in the mega things but also in the smallest of things as well.” Why should we not as believers take advantage of our loving Lord who is all-knowing by consulting Him? I was glad that my roommate experienced the spiritual realities of God’s knowledge, love, and involvement in his life that day. A great lesson came from a misplaced wallet of all things!

Often, I’m afraid, that we conclude from any silence of God that what is important to us is not important to Him; nothing could be further from the truth! He loves us with everlasting love. I have often maintained in M-G that God never allows anything to enter our lives without His permission or approval. God will always do right by us (Rom 8:28), always. It may get turbulent at times, but He will always be by our side, not in theory but in reality (Heb 13:5).

Now the question remains; was I over-spiritualizing and coming across as being self-righteous to my roommate? I report; you decide, but I would ask the same thing to you in matters that you may think are too trivial, mundane, and “secular” to God, “Had you asked Yahweh?”  

One night, King David was looking up at the starry host of heaven which lead him to ponder God’s relationship with mortal man, namely him (Psa 8:3),

“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him (Psa 8:4; cf. Psa 144:3).”

The human secularist only sees a moon and innumerable stars (non-spiritualizing). Astrologers prognosticate (over-spiritualizing). The religionists see God’s handiwork but make no application (under-spiritualizing), and then there is King David, a man after God’s own heart, who was amazed and awe-struck that the Creator God would even think of a mortal man in contrast to the immensity of His celestial handiwork (spiritualizing)!

He saw the spiritual reality by simply gazing into the heavens one evening and spiritualized that the Creator God sees him (despite his size and mortality in an endless ocean of stars) and interacts with him! Was David over-spiritualizing his natural environment? If so, it was done under inspiration, superintended and approved by the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16)! How often have we looked up into the starry skies and left speechless of the firmament declaring the glory of God to us (Psa 19:1)? If it has been a while, get out there to a place not impacted by light pollution and gaze and be prepared to be amazed! It’s chicken soup for the soul.

The only proper worldview for a believer is looking at the world around us and making sense of it through the Creator’s point of view which is provided to us courtesy of the Holy Writ. I have spent nearly 24 years of my life being spiritually blind and a walking dead man through unbelief (2 Cor 4:4). I was clueless about any spiritual reality beyond my five senses; this is the nature of spiritual blindness, but after being born again, I saw the spiritual reality behind the physical.

To a lost world this all sounds laughable and ludicrous, but my pathetic spiritual condition was of no laughing matter; I was spiritually separated from God and on my way to hell as any lost man. People poke and joke about the need for salvation because they are spiritually blind and of the walking dead (cf. 1 Cor 1:18; 2:14; Rom 1:16). I can never forget that I was once among the dead as an unsaved sinner (spiritually blind, unholy), but now I am a saved sinner (spiritually seeing, holy, cf. Rom 1:7, a saint) only by the grace of God through faith (Eph 2:8-9).

The most important thing to do in this world that is above all else is to ask Jesus into your heart (cf. Mt 16:26). I have never regretted that decision back on 1.19.1976. There is no higher honor than being a follower of Jesus Christ!

Let me interject here that I do not have in view in this matter of spiritualizing the world around us or seeing the spiritual behind the physical of including spiritualizing any text of Scripture. This is an unsound hermeneutical practice and should be avoided because the mind of the interpreter becomes the authority and not the context of Scripture. In a historical/grammatical approach to Scripture, context is the sovereign of hermeneutics (the art and science of the interpretation of Scripture).

How God looks at the world is naturally based on a proper interpretation of the Bible. The problem that develops from spiritualizing is attempting to give a spiritual sense or significance to all of life’s experiences. This is referred to by many as over-spiritualizing which is not a compliment at all because it usually departs from the context of Scripture which is commonly accompanied by being considered self-righteous, too, ouchy!

There is an inherent problem with accusing genuine believers of over-spiritualizing, however, that is often overlooked in the criticism. If there is no conflict with Scripture in the spiritualizing, who is able to declare that God is not interested or involved in the life of a believer if you accept the premise that absolutely nothing enters the life of a believer unless God has His stamp of approval on it. Satan cannot go rogue on us or violate Divinely imposed limitations concerning us because Yahweh is all-powerful and all-knowing (cf. Job 1:12; 2:6). Was it not Job’s friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) who got into some serious trouble with God because they had not spoken the truth about God to Job (Job 42:7, 8)?

Now, I understand that people can exaggerate and embellish by reading too much into any circumstance. I personally do not ascribe a spiritual truth to every situation in life that comes across my radar unless I feel an unction by the Holy Spirit, particularly if it involves someone else (cf. Jn 7:24; Mt 7:2). It is very important that we interpret our experiences in light of the Scriptures and not the other way around. If a gnat gets in my eye, if some fly lands on my food, or if a bee or mosquito nails me, I don’t normally seek any spiritual value from it.

Truthfully, I am more focused on the irritation of some insects, but I cannot say unequivocally that there is absolutely no spiritual value in those minor or mundane situations. God is God; He can do and use whatever He chooses to communicate truth which is always in tune with special revelation. Unfortunately, most of the time we are often oblivious to God speaking to us through various situations. We need to become more knowledgeable of the Word and sensitive to our surroundings and respond in a way pleasing to God. 

The Spirit uses the Word and circumstances all day long to teach us things. What sparrow falls to the ground and goes unnoticed by the Divine (Mt 10:29)? Are not the very hairs on our head numbered (Mt 10:30)? God governs in the micro affairs and conversely in the macro of matters! He is, after all, Yahweh is Sovereign!

God speaks through His Word primarily; any secondary mediums, like dreams, visions, or experiences in life, God will never conflict with the primary communication of Scripture. If the Scripture is silent in a matter, the response of secondary communications will be aligned with the principles of Scripture as well. God will never violate His Word. I think it wise to see the world as God does, but to purposely seek some profound spiritual meaning in everything is like trying to make a parable walk on all fours. Something breaks away from the truth along the way.

I concur with the opinion that sometimes taking out the garbage is just that, taking out the garbage. It would be wise of us who see the spiritual nature of things; that before we say, “The Lord spoke to me and said,” we need to make sure what comes next is in accordance with Scripture, for the Bible is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice, which includes how we are looking at the world in the majors and the minors of life. This is Spiritualizing 101.

By the way, God is far more interested and involved in even the minutest matters of our lives than most of us realize! I would go so far as to say that God is interested and involved in every single molecule pertaining to our lives 24/7 (cf. Psa 139:1-18); He did lay down His life for us did He not and rose again the third day (1 Cor 15:3-4)!

Have you asked God lately? You’ve got nothing to lose and all to gain in your journey to be like Him. <><