“Wild Goose Chase”

On summer vacation, I read Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Batterson is one of my favorite writers and I love this book!

The title for the book comes from the name Celtic Christians have for the Holy Spirit, the Wild Goose. It denotes adventure. Batterson makes clear, “nothing is more unnerving or disorienting than passionately pursuing God” (2).

The book addresses “six cages,” or ways we cage the Holy Spirit, the Wild Goose …

  • the cage of responsibility
  • the cage of routine
  • the cage of assumptions
  • the cage of guilt
  • the cage of failure
  • the cage of fear

Here are some of my favorite quotes in each section …

Responsibility

We are called to follow in Christ’s footsteps. Christ followers ought to be the most passionate people on the planet. Pursuing God-ordained passions isn’t optional. It is an essential part of chasing the Wild Goose. And the adventure begins the moment we start pursuing a God-ordained passion. (17)

Batterson encourages us to pray.

Start praying. Prayer makes us spiritually fertile. And the more we pray the more passionate we become. Our convictions grow stronger, and our dreams grow bigger. (26)

Prayer is necessary, but don’t use it as cop-out. At some point, prayer must lead to action.

Pray about everything. Then pray some more. But at some point, you need to quit praying and start acting.” (28)

Batterson notes the early church was action oriented.

When Christianity turns into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb. And, more specifically, an action verb. The title of the book of Acts says it all, doesn’t it? It’s not the book of Ideas or Theories or Words. It’s the book of Acts. If the twenty-first-century church said less and did more, maybe we would have the same kind of impact the first-century church did. (29)

Routine

When we get into the routine of life …

… the sacred becomes routine. And we not only forfeit spiritual adventure but we also start losing the joy of our salvation. Chasing the Wild Goose is the way to get it back. That means coming out of the cage of the routine. We need to change our routine, take some risks, and try new things. And if we do, we will find ourselves coming alive again. (44)

Batterson offers a great reminder about the importance of Sabbath. He notes, “The word Sabbath means ‘to catch one’s breath'” (54).

It’s counterintuitive, but the way you speed up is by slowing down. A Wild Goose chase isn’t a mad dash. It’s more of a triathlon. And pacing yourself for the journey is the key. (55)

Assumptions

… We make far too many assumptions about what is and what is not possible in the physical universe. We do the same thing spiritually. And those assumptions become eight-foot ceilings that limit our lives. (75)

It can happen to all of us. Batterson says, “We stop gazing at the stars and start staring at the ceiling” (77).

As I reviewed the book again, this is one of the statements that especially struck me …

Faith is not logical. But it isn’t illogical either. Faith is theological. It doesn’t ignore reality; it just adds God into the equation. (79)

Guilt

Guilt can be good or bed.

When we sin, guilt is a healthy and holy reflex. Thank God for the conviction of the Holy Spirit that drives us to repentance. (95)

There’s good news. God’s grace is available to us.

The moment we confess our sin to God, our sin is forgiven and forgotten. But for most of us, it is far easier to accept God’s forgiveness than it is to forgive ourselves. (95)

Batterson describes the role of the enemy.

Scripture says Satan ‘prowls around like a roaring lion.’ Satan is also the accuser of the brothers. … He wants to remind you of your greatest failures over and over again. Why? Because if you focus all your energy on past failures, you’ll have no energy left to dream kingdom dreams or pursue kingdom purposes. (97-98)

But it’s all about God’s grace.

The grace of God is the difference between drowning in guilt and swimming in gratitude. (115)

Failure

It’s so important we handle failure well.

Failure handled improperly can be devastating, but failure handled properly is the best thing that can happen to us. Failure teaches us our most valuable lessons. It keeps us from taking the credit or taking for granted later successes. (118)

Batterson describes “closed doors” as “divine detours” (122). And they can “actually turn into the best things that can happen to us” (123).

Bad things happen to good people. You will experience some shipwrecks and snakebites along the way. But when you give Jesus complete editorial control over your life, he begins writing His-story through your life. (126)

Fear

Fear can keep us from doing what God wants.

Most of us are far too tentative when it comes to the will of God. We let our fears dictate our decisions. We are so afraid of making the wrong decision that we make no decision. And we fail to realize that indecision is a decision. And it is our indecision, not our bad decisions, that keeps us in the cage. (144)

Too often we think it should get easier as we go along.

I think we’ve made a false assumption about the will of God. We subconsciously think it should get easier the longer we follow Christ. … spiritual growth prepares us for more dangerous missions. As we grow, God gives us more difficult things to do. (150)

God calls us to action!

… selfish ambition is bad. But godly ambition is good. I’ve never met anyone who was overly ambitious for the things of God. We need to dream God-sized dreams … they’re the only things that will drive us to our knees and keep us living in absolute dependence upon God the way we were designed to. (160)

Great book! My hope and prayer is that we will rediscover what it means follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I pray it will become an adventure as we chase the Wild Goose!

3 thoughts on ““Wild Goose Chase””

  1. Randy, I really enjoyed your thoughts on his book. I was first introduced to Batterson by Margaret Daub at west side when she recommended The Prayer Circle. It was fantastic. I look forward to Wild Goose Chase.
    Your writings are a blessing.

    Reply
    • Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I’m a big of Batterson’s, “The Circle Maker.” I’ve written a few posts about the book, as well. All of his books have been inspirational, but he’s hard to keep up with; he writes a lot. 🙂

      Reply

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