About a week ago I sat in a tiny dive bar in Anacortes with new friends. The conversation turned to the question of whether God is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives--is God a cosmic chess player organizing every move in our lives? We wrestled with this and tossed out thoughts and examples. The example was brought up of a family who didn’t necessarily need a new car but desired a new one. Not long after they started praying for a car, they were provided with a newer car for free. Was this God answering their prayers? One of the guys I was sitting with struggled with whether or not God really, truly would care about and answer a prayer like this when people all over the world are starving and their prayers for food go unanswered. (As I side note, I don’t think is often as much about God’s not answering these prayers as it is about the context of our sinful world, which has created an imbalance in resources)
While I don’t pretend to have all the answers to this question, I’m leaning towards the answer being both yes & no! Yes, I believe that God is intimately involved in our lives...in the heart of our lives. Can he provide a new car? A miraculous cure of a disease? Of course. Does it matter to God what job I have or if I get married? Probably not. But I do think that God cares deeply about our hearts in every intimate detail of life. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” The more I reflect on this verse, the more I realize that if my heart desires God first, my desires will flow out of that place. My desire will no longer be “I want a new job” or “I’d like to be married, rather, “I want to glorify God in everything I do at work” & “I desire to be in deep, authentic relationships.” If I don’t like my job and pray for a new one, is the actual job what God cares about or is it more the process and place of my heart as I explore where I’m at in the moment? I’ve spent so much time focusing on a desire of things. Not that those are necessarily wrong, but it doesn’t seem like that’s as important to God as the desires of the heart. I don’t have this all figured out, nor are the thoughts above necessarily complete or well thought out. I’m grateful for the ways that a conversation begun in a bar with new friends has prompted many thoughts and reflections about God’s involvement in and plan for my life.
good stuff kate
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts, Kate. I think God wants you to use the skills and talents that She gave you so you can do the will of God on earth. From what I've seen, you've been very successful in doing that. Now, it's time to mix things up (that only He can understand) and see what else you can do. I'm impressed with your faith and with your friends; as long as you stick with them, you are going to do just fine. Sometime I'll have to tell you about our friend, John (and his friends & faith).
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