In another month Yvette and I would have served here at Fresno Pacific for five years. As we had sensed the call to come, we now believe it is the time to leave. All that we discern God wanted to do through us is completed. Our goal was to set a foundation for the next leader God sends to FPU. We had sufficient time to ask God questions, but the most valued time we spent in Fresno was listening to the questions God asked us.

Our natural tendency in education is to analyze, ask and investigate. This is part of the learning process. Sometimes we become so filled with knowledge that we are deaf to the one voice that is important. All we see, hear and think chokes the Word God spoke. Several years ago, I shared a quote with this community: “God speaks to those who take time to listen.” I first heard it during an all-night prayer meeting, months before going to college. I am frequently reminded of this saying. It comes to me in business, in relationships, in new partnerships and in listening to controversial voices that fight each other daily.

A few weeks ago, I read and heard a question Jesus asked of Peter. A question that comes to most of us but is often ignored because our eyes see more than our ears hear, and our thoughts reason more than our hearts believe. So, the question comes and goes, and we ignore its source. Jesus asked Peter this question that comes to us: “You of little faith, why do you doubt?”

The question does not come to us for an answer. It comes to us as a discerner of the heart. All that we see around us, even our expectations of the future, points to a reason to fear, to doubt and to question the validity of the truth that has constructed the ages. Jesus stepped out on the water which created a fear in his disciples. His response: “take courage… do not be afraid.” When fear and doubt entrap our thoughts and sight, we doubt the promises of God. This question should always haunt us, because it is a question about our relationship to God: “why do you doubt?”

We commend Peter because out of all 12 disciples, he stepped into the supernatural with Jesus. This act likely didn’t enter the minds of the other 11. But he, as many of us do, became distracted by what we all would agree was the reality of the situation. So, the question was not about the reality of the situation, it was about the reality of his heart.

God’s questions are all about our hearts. He knows the answer, but we fail to discern the obvious. Our hearts do not honor him through our trust. Maybe if we would take more time to listen, our trust would grow and his word would become our courage to fight all fears. His word will raise the questions to our hearts, then give us the faith to believe. God will speak to those who take time to listen. It is his voice that grants us peace and joy to overcome the thoughts that bind us. Possible will only continue at FPU as long as we in community honor God with our trust.