Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Trusting God is like jogging

We do both initially because it's good for us; we want to reap the benefit of the habit. But trusting God, like running, is not natural in the beginning. It is a trait that only develops when circumstances, well... require faith. Challenging circumstances. When we first run, our lungs, muscles and joints all protest with pain; their capacity is being stretched and trained. Committed runners know that if they cave in to the pain they will interfere with the strengthening process and so they tough it out. In the Christian life we are required to do the same, trusting God often means enduring difficult situations while choosing to do good or maintaining faith when options for short cuts are appealing and a disgruntled attitude is justifiable.

Fortunately running and trusting God aren't just all pain. At a certain point, endorphins kick in, altering our perception and supplying us with happy feelings. Likewise, unwavering faith eventually opens up opportunities for divine intervention. Then we realize that God who seemed so abstract and distant before is in fact real and personal; we experience His active work in our lives. THAT personal knowledge of God gives us esteem and happiness that no worldly success ever delivers.

Jogging and living in faith both get easier as they become habitual. It is our part to maintain the habit and God's part to provide the endorphins. We would be fooling ourselves to think that we can attain happiness apart from God.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Decisions, decisions!

A month ago while driving from Vancouver to Chicago, our beloved Toyota Previa's engine overheated and then somewhere along highway 94, in Montana, it started making clanging noises. Our journey was seriously threatened. But we pressed on. And while my husband and I were relieved when we arrived at our destination, two days later, that was not the end of the problem. Our van's engine needed major repair and we faced a sea of options regarding what to do with it. Should we keep the van? Buy an old engine? A used one? Maybe a rebuilt one that comes with warranty? Or find someone to rebuild our own engine? We were almost paralyzed by all the pros and cons, unable to decipher which was the best way to go.  

Christians should look for God's guidance in their decisions, right? But how? Do we just use our best judgement and trust He will make the path we choose a good one? How is this approach different from someone who doesn't know God? What criteria should be our guide? Lowest price? Best warranty? Most convenience?

As my mind was swirling with the theological questions involved in this very practical decision, a thought came to mind: 'Choose the option and service provider that you want to bless the most.' What? Look for whom or what I wanted to affirm, to build, to bless, rather than the one that gave me the best deal? This idea felt so foreign to my natural inclination...it must be from God.  

In the end we found a company to rebuild our engine, one that we wanted to encourage. It was not the cheapest nor the most convenient, and only time will tell about the quality. But we feel so much peace from first hearing, then heeding God's advice on how to proceed. His word is true--"Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, 'this is the way you should go', whether to the right or to the left." Isaiah 30:21