God’s Details of Life
May 24th, 2020 - Words of Witness – Mickey Quinn
As I was preparing for this worship service, I was struck by the passage of the scripture that I just shared with you from Acts, when the disciples were all eagerly asking Jesus “Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” and Jesus’ reply was basically “It is not for you to know” the details, that’s God’s decision.
It reminded me of a quote that is often attributed to John Lennon as he used it in the lyrics he wrote in the song Beautiful Boy or Darling Boy, but it can actually be traced back earlier than that to a piece by Allen Saunders when it first appeared in an issue of Reader’s Digest magazine dated January 1957. And the quote is:
“Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans.”
As Christians we are taught to bring our needs to the Lord in prayer. That everything we need, will be given to us by God. All we need to do is pray, and every prayer is answered. But it’s the way in which God chooses to answer our prayers…now that is the interesting thing.
I know when I have a thought of something that I want or need, whatever that may be, a need for a feeling of purpose, or a sense of belonging, or material things like a place to live, new clothes, groceries, a reliable car to drive, or health. Whatever it is that I am thinking I may be in need of, something I pray for, I usually have a pretty clear picture in my mind of exactly what that thing looks like, or feels like. And after I pray, all that’s left to do is carry on , keep going about my life, doing the very best I can, while believing and patiently waiting for my prayer to be answered.
But that’s where I often mess up. Because I have this very clear picture in my mind of the details of what it will look like when my prayer is finally answered. But that picture often doesn’t match up with what God has planned for me.
I love the phrase “Let go, and let God” because it reminds me that the details of the who, what, how, when, and where are God’s details and His alone. My job is to keep my eyes, ears, and mind open to recognize the answer to my prayer when it shows up.
Remaining in a state of attention and acceptance, for whatever comes my way, to remember that there is actually wisdom in uncertainty, because when we embrace uncertainty, that’s when we are better able to see the huge number of possibilities. And that is a much more enjoyable perspective to have – one of excitement, adventure, and even mystery.
But, that means I have to pay attention. Because if I am stuck looking for just one way that God may answer my prayer, I will potentially miss all of the abundance He sends my way.