Introduction
The Lord had been encouraging me for some time to get going on my writing. I started putting down the words I got from him, and the revelations he was giving me from scripture. Then I moved out to knee-deep1, and started writing little articles, expanding on those parts, and piecing together the revelations. This went on for a period of years. I was intrigued by the new insights into scripture I was receiving. Then the idea for this book began to gel. The title came to me, and I did the cover illustration. Of course, there had to be something mathematical about it. Looking back over the whole span of my life, math would have to be the major talent the Lord has given me. Though in working with that one talent, he’s enabled me to gain so many others2. Mathematical intuition opens up an affinity to the concepts of computer programming, scriptural study in Greek and Hebrew, and an almost poetic appreciation for the relevance of etymology.
This is the background that has led me to wade out, waist-deep into the writing of Dynamic, expressing the truths ingrained in me by the Lord, over the course of my study of scripture and the advance of my relationship with him. The concept of dynamic is that there must be something more than staid doctrine and fixed points of theology in the depths of the living God. There’s more to be read in the pages of the bible than we’ve ever heard explained in sermons or commentaries or books on the subject. There are questions that arise, in the wording of scripture, that can leave us feeling unsettled about the true intent of a passage. In my experience, this is not a call to gloss over the issue, or even emend the word itself, to satisfy our limited grasp of the meaning. Over and over I have found it confirmed: Seek, and you will find3.
Questions I’ve had from my earliest days of experiencing the Lord have been resolved by the scriptures themselves. They do answer their own questions, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The network of concept and comprehension grows, not only deeper, but richer in intricate detail. The resonance of scripture in each listener becomes a theme in the orchestration of his life. Here we have an oboe, here a flute, a snare drum, an electric guitar. Each instrument has its own capacity, its own capability. Each one is designed for its own particular purpose. My place in the whole ensemble has been laid out in the score, prompted by the conductor. I’m meant to play my own part, whether in harmony or counterpoint. The weaving together of melody and dynamic is in the hand of the man who holds the baton.
It’s been eleven months since I began the actual writing of Dynamic. There have been times when everything flowed beautifully in succession. There have been times of impasse. At times, I’ve simply set it aside for a period. At other times, I’ve wrestled with concepts, wrestled with wording, even wrestled with the Lord over a point or two. The resulting passages in the book have been the better for it. These are all things I’ve dealt with before, on a smaller scale, at least until we get to the last few chapters of the book. The endeavor of producing a full length work, though, has brought many of the issues and ideas into clearer focus. The entire process has drawn me deeper than I’ve ever been before.
There have been struggles. This is a time of transition, not only for me, but for the whole world around us. The advantage of my life, though, is that I’ve never had any good old days. My life has been a dynamic quest that has only gotten better with age. I would not go back to any previous period. That’s not to say there haven’t been highlights, glimmers of potential, promising signs of a future hope. It’s just that, through all the challenges, in the face of all the obstacles, it’s never been a question of, let’s give up on the Lord and go back to Egypt4. He truly leads us into a higher way.
My hope is that as you read this development of a scriptural dynamic, you’ll be drawn in deeper, as I was, beyond ankle-deep or knee-deep, or even waist-deep, but into the river that can’t be forded. Totally reliant on the buoyancy of the Spirit of God, plunge in with me.
David Troidl
Buffalo, New York
August 7, 2015