Four Given by Malo Bel – The Mystery of Godliness
My story started on a beach, a strange place for a journey to begin, but nothing compared to where it would lead me!
Near the end of a relaxing vacation I was walking by myself towards the beach showers. As I walked I was thinking about my life. Something is wrong! My life is all about what I want, what I do, what I feel. Where’s God? I suddenly felt empty, like it was all “me” and no “Jesus.” I was so shallow. So self obsessed. And so I asked him, "Lord, how do I let go of me and take in more of you? Please Lord, help me! I want to let go! I want to be filled with you.”
However, rather than an answer I got a question back - "How do you let go?"
What do you mean ‘How do you let go?’” And so for a while I pondered his question, “How do you let go?”
“Of course! It’s obvious,” I replied, “If you have to let go something you have to open your hand."
What does it mean to open your hand?” he asked.
“I suppose an open hand is a hand that gives,” I replied. “Must my journey to you begin with giving?”
“Of course!” It suddenly hit me. “Is not giving the defining act of love? ‘God so loved the world that he GAVE his only son...’ And then like a flash God’s holy name leapt into my mind, and I looked and saw and was stunned. There at the very start of His name is the smallest of all Hebrew letters, the letter Yod (י). The very name of God, which defines Him, begins with an open hand, with the ultimate demonstration of love, with giving.
Is it a message to us, a journey we should take? I could feel the overwhelming sense of God's presence wash over me, as I stood there lost in my communion with him. There was a discovery, a journey that God was calling me on.
However as quick as the excitement arose so too did my doubt. Was this really a path God was revealing to me or was it just the vain imaginations of my mind? “Maybe I am just imagining hearing him, imagining his answers. It’s all in my mind. Maybe….” At that exact moment my thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
"Excuse me," she said. I turned around to find one of the girls who had been showering talking to me. "What are you thinking about?" I was blown away. Why would a complete stranger ask me what I am thinking about? How did she even know I was thinking anything and not just staring at the sea? Startled, I stammered, “Umm, I was thinking about…about a path. A path to God.” And before I knew it I was sharing everything with her, a complete stranger. I was giving voice, my voice to the silent conversation in my heart.
She listened intently, and then smiling said, “Wow. That’s deep, very deep.” And with that she turned and walked off leaving me with my doubt washed away. For no sooner had doubt crept in that God had spoken, than God made me give voice to what I had heard, with my very own mouth. No sooner had doubt crept in than a complete stranger would say about someone despairing in his shallowness, “That’s deep, very deep.”
And so began my journey, and my calling to write this story, and the beginning of many more miracles.
As someone who loves a good mystery, especially a real one, you can imagine how mind blowing it was for me to discover a mystery so important, so divine, so life changing, hidden within the very name of God! This is not some cleverly constructed fiction, something we read, enjoy and put aside. This is a map, a journey, a vital path for every single human being, encoded in the holy letters of God’s name. A journey that begins with a small open hand but that ends in a place called Eternity.
I invite you to join me on my journey to discover the very mystery of Godliness and life eternal in the most startling of ways. A journey that will leave you changed…forever.
Four Given is being showcased by the John 3:16 Marketing Network as part of their September Book Launch Event. Be sure to visit http://bit.ly/Christian_Books for a chance to win a Kindle Fire, a $25 gift card and a $10 Starbucks card, as well as purchase Four Given.
Malo will be giving away 50% of all proceeds from sales during the book launch to a charity that works in Africa to uplift families and communities, especially the disabled and children.
To discover a mystery about Malo Bel, point any QR Code reader on a mobile phone at the QR Code alongside.
To learn more about Malo, please visit his website at http://www.malobel.com. You can follow him on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/malo_bel.
