Did this ever happen to you?
Someone mentions that they wonder what it would be like to do that or have this or go there. You sense they have a desire for this certain thing. You hear it by the way the talk about this thing.
Silly example - they want a new coffee maker. You hear them admire the coffee maker. They mention that they did some research on coffee makers and this one scored the best.
A day later, they are so excited because they even overheard a random comment about this particular coffee maker.
Then suddenly they are saying that God told/nudged/directed them to get that particular coffee maker.
This baffles and/or annoys me ... depending on the circumstances.
This baffles and/or annoys me ... depending on the circumstances.
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8 comments:
Oh, Janet.
You open a can of worms, friend! :-)
Dan and I have spent hours talking about this phenomenon because it drives us both absolutely crazy. (He's significantly nicer about it, though.)
Sometimes it's all I can do to hold back from saying, "Good too know that while God was busy making sure you got the message about your coffee maker, 10,000 kids died in developing countries because they don't have clean water!"
To me it represents a lack of perspective about what's important, and what "blessings" really are, and about how God works in the world. It turns God into a sort of genie who shows up when we want something and gives us play-by-play directions about every menial decision in our lives. It turns him into little more than a superstition - or an idol created in our image to like whatever we like, want whatever we want, and approve of whatever we decide to do.
Oh dear.
I'm ranting.
Not very Christ-like.
I'm not sure - but I think things might change if we managed to catch God's vision for the world and jump into that, rather than trying to squeeze him into our little vision for our little worlds.
...As if I've figured that out.
Thanks for the great question. I'm off to tend to this massive log wedged in my eyeball.
Thanks Rachel -
I get most confused when God isn't a part of the early conversations, but then he's suddenly in the picture and he agrees with them!
Especially for matters more serious than coffee makers ... like whether or not to switch jobs or go to this/that school or start/stop a program at a church, etc.
Hey ... come to Whiteboard next Friday, then we could sit on the beach ranting and solving all the world's problems over the weekend :)
I had this exact, in a not so exact way, last night with my husband. It's that fine line we cross when we take our wants and make them God's will for our lives. So backwards. So cowardly. So unimaginative. God has such bigger things for us than even what our own minds can conceive. But because we want control, we don't let ourselves have the faith to give up ourselves. It drives me insane too. I'm sure before I understood how I did it myself, I drove people insane as well. I just don't know how to teach this concept.
It's so much easier to make God into our image than to be transformed into His ... at least that's my experience.
Hi Christy - interesting thought, can this concept be taught?
Susan - very true!
I really do think that God is in the details of our lives. "In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths," kinda thing. It may be a little immature to talk about it to people, but I pray about stuff like that all the time. I may not ever see His direction until I "look in the rearview mirror" so to speak.
Hey, hope to see you at Whiteboard!
No, wait, I won't see you there. I will be keeping Wyatt, Dylan and Cody so Ainsley can go. =)
Ben's dad was at the Leadership seminar that you attended last Friday. One of the thoughts he brought home was, if you are lonely at the top, then you were not a leader, you were just taking a hike! =)
Hi Cherdecor,
Nice to 'meet' you.
I do believe God is everywhere, so yes, he's in the details of our lives also. And he created us with brains to use and choices to make, so I find it interesting when people credit and/or blame him for something they choose to do. Maybe they did hear/feel his spirit tell them something ... and I'm just being picky :)
Either way, thanks for your comment - that's a good verse to think about.
Yes, I like the hiking comment from the leadercast also. So, do you live in VA beach and/or are friends with Ben's family? Hope you have lots of energy keeping 3 boys all day :)
Cherdecor,
I was just exploring your website and I realized you are more than friends to Ben and his family - you are mom and grandma :)
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