When we reach the
conclusion of a day, do we give much thought to how it went from God's
perspective? There seem to be two
non-Biblical takes on a day. The first
is that God really doesn't care much how it went. It seems laughable to many that anyone would
even attempt to ascertain God's view of experiences and reactions. Commentators mock the fools who claim God
gave them victory in sporting events or brought them success at what they
did. The other view is that everything
always goes just as God wants it to go and so each decision made and every
circumstance is divinely determined and thus "His will". And yet the Scripture seems to be in neither
of these two camps. God is presented as
angry at how some things go and pleased as punch on other occasions. The details of the day seem to matter to the
Lord; they aren't just meaningless minutia or orchestrated point by point as
God determines. We can really decide to
turn left or right and in the examples of life lived out in actualities we find
in Scripture, God cares which way the people go. It genuinely seems to sadden and anger God
that Israelites bend into paganism and He appears really happy when a single
sinner repents and turns to Him for help.
It may appear clownish for a young wife to pray her husband like the
meal she prepares or for a basketball player to pray he win his game but even
if such praying is immature, it isn't for the reasons often voiced. We are told to pray for God to intervene in
our circumstances; no parameters are set for us. And if things cannot and do not turn ever on
our praying, then what an absurdity it is for the Lord to tell us to pray for
our daily bread and the "whatsoevers" of our day. It is meaningless noise if everything is set
in stone by the will of God or not even noticed by Him. As a young scholar stretches his vocabulary
by reading great works and an athlete builds her strength by pushing her
muscles to the limit, so we build intimacy with God and develop holiness by
turning to Him for the breadiness of our minutes and hours. Each day is filled with a multitude of
"daily bread" moments that God wants us to bring before Him and admit
our need for His help. Why does an old
man go to a doctor for medication if not because in his maturity he recognizes
his limitations and admits his poverty?
Have we so little faith and are we so childish that we do not have it in
us to persist in knocking and seeking and asking? Are we so calloused by our troubles and
failures that we no longer have space in our day to go to God and expect Him to
have at least as much concern for what we face as us? Is God not god enough to care for you and
want to wrap you in His arms in a tender embrace ? Do you not think He celebrates with you your
victories and weeps over your defeats?
Aren't you aware of how much He cares about your reaction to the
temptation you face, what you decide about your long-standing grudges and how
you respond to your critic? It is odd,
just based on what is clearly evident in Scripture, that any believer would
dismiss the possibility that God has something to say about His day. And it seems to be an absurdity that He would
do nothing to try to ascertain what His thoughts might be!
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The
disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we
drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be
still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:38-39 NIV
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