Lessons from the Road

By After Edmund • Jul 1st, 2008 • Category: Artists in Residence

My name is Adam; I play drums for a bunch of clowns named After Edmund and I am writing to you from scenic . . . um . . . somewhere in Maryland. We pulled up to the church we are playing at tonight right after their Sunday service and the first thing I saw when I walked in was about thirty people in cowboy hats and boots and a bunch of chairs in the middle of a huge half-pipe-like skate ramp that looks like it used to be a swimming pool. Also adding to the already surreal atmosphere were a row of old school arcade games lining this pool/ramp/meeting hall and the speaker system blaring overbearingly that song “Spirit in the Sky” as several of these gregarious ranch goers moved to greet us.

I thought I’d walked into a parallel dimension for a second or two. I was thoroughly wigged out. One second I’m in a quiet parking lot in Maryland and the next I’m in some strange out-take of Quantum Leap. I think the first thought in my head after the initial shock was “Wow, the cowboy hat is really catching on in Maryland; I definitely didn’t see that one coming”. I hadn’t really thought of Maryland as a cowboy hat sort of place. As it turns out the church has some sort of western flavored series going for the children. This place definitely makes the list of the most interesting places we’ve ever found ourselves performing. I might also add to their credit that the food they served was quite delicious and they had Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, which might be the quickest way to this guy’s heart.

Every day on the road sort of follows this pattern for us: new people, new surroundings, various and sundry sleeping arrangements, etc. Sometimes I find myself missing the consistency of my life back at home. I’d really have to say that I have the best bunch of friends in the universe back home. We pray, worship, learn and teach together. Sometimes we just eat. There’s always someone running the race beside me back home, always someone going after the Lord, always someone to encourage me. I used to get ashamed of the way I would live stronger and closer to the Lord in such an environment and then as soon as I would leave, my world would begin to shift and shake. I would think, “If I don’t have enough faith to live strong for the Lord on my own, I really don’t have anything at all”.

Now I’ve come to realize that there’s a very good reason that this can be the case. Our prayer life is the primary way we interact with the Lord, but it’s not the only way. We who are in Christ really are the parts of His body. This is true because by His Spirit He dwells within us. That means that when we walk in the Spirit and in love, we are in a very real sense Christ to one another. Certainly we experience the love of Christ through one another. We were made for this sort of fellowship. It’s not a crutch or a sign of weakness; it’s the very intention of the Lord. This can be seen in the scriptures in Mark 12:30-31. No shame in that. However, what happens when life throws you a curve ball?

I love my brothers in the band and they are a great encouragement and support to me, but the shifting sand of life on the road can demolish every bit of solid ground you think you have in no time. Your routine times of devotion and prayer are now eaten by setup, or sleep, or just constantly being in route. It’s a world of excuses for why not to spend time with the Lord. Before I know it my heart and my head are all over the place. Where’s the consistency to be found? I’m learning what the Lord said through Jeremiah, that our hearts are deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). This is a much needed and little welcome message for us in this age where everyone’s telling us to “just follow your heart”.

Could there be a worse idea really? I can tell you that my heart changes its mind at least hourly and has many times steered me into a ditch. Anyone who has studied the humanities or philosophy can tell you how many movements and shifts of paradigm there’ve been throughout our history; each of them different from the next with it’s propagators whole-heartedly thinking they’ve finally figured it out. Then after a few years, we’re on to the next one. Is there anything to lean on if not our own hearts or understanding?

Thank God, yes: the Word of God. The Lord is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8). He has changed nothing of His personality or ways ever. If the Bible says something, you can bet it’s still the truth. If the Bible says God feels a certain way about His people, you can bet He still does. Like the Romans 3:4 verse says, “Let God be true and every man a liar”. I have found this to be the absolute key to staying in the Lord in any situation: staying in the Word of God and absolutely making time for the Bible and prayer everyday no matter what. Thank God that who He is, the way He loves me, and my standing with Him doesn’t change with the way my heart feels.

1 John 3:20 says that if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart. That means that even when I’m feeling lost and far from the Lord on the road, nothing has really changed at all. He still loves me like He did when He sent Jesus to die for my sins. His Spirit is still dwelling right there within me no matter how far away from Him I feel. If I feel like I’ve screwed up badly and God has me on some kind of probation that I have to wait out before I get back in His presence, nothing changes the Bible truth that God loves me as His own son and always wants me back in contact with Him (Luke 15:11-31). Even when my heart says God doesn’t like me because I’ve failed to take the time to really dig in and pray today, I know it’s lying to me. The human heart is deceitful above all things; that’s good news to me. Praise God I don’t have to listen to it. I can always stand on the unchanging truth of His Word, which He gave to me because He loves me.

– Adam Stanley of After Edmund

Does it Resonate with you?

Name

Email (will not be published)

URL