What Might God Be Up To?
Isaiah 55v8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I want to be cautious when trying to discern the will and purposes of God for myself during difficult times; even more for others. God doesn’t promise us that we will know why he is doing what he is doing. If a police officer knocks on your door and wants to arrest you or search your house; you are entitled to know why. But God invites us into a sense of abandonment, security and trust. A decision to follow Jesus is a decision to believe that 1) God is charge and 2) whatever he says and whatever he does, he has a sound purpose in mind.
But just because God has a purpose doesn’t necessarily mean we will understand it; at least not while we are in the midst of it.
There are times in the Bible when God is clear about his purpose. Like the wandering of the Israelites for 40 years, for example. A quick read through Numbers 12, 13 and 21 reminds us that the sometimes God is abundantly clear why he is doing what he is doing.
So, what might God be up to?
Maybe he is inviting us to Love People
Up until the virus shut things down, it was an understatement to say that people in our society were struggling to get along…and the political season was really just getting warmed up! In the past year we have found new ways to hurt each other by elevating our differences and neglecting what we share in common. In general, many of us have been conditioned to be quickly offended by one another and to refrain from giving the benefit-of-the-doubt. Once a society loses the ability to view one another as precious and made in the image of God, there is little hope of unity.
When I was a child, my older sister and I used to fall out of favor with one another.
Often.
When that happened, any and everything she did or said would set me off.
I would look for reasons to start an argument…and I would find them…and we would argue.
You know what my parents would do?
They would make us stay in our rooms. For hours. Alone. With nothing to do.
And a funny thing would often happen while I was quarantined to my room. I would think about my heart and my attitude. I would notice how self-centered I was. And when I emerged from my prison sentence, I was often well-aware that the problem was me, not my sister.
By the time my parents freed us to interact again, my sister and I both had an entirely new appreciation of one another. And we would actually get along.
Maybe that’s what God is up to. Maybe social distancing could lead to a new level of social intimacy. Maybe God has quarantined us to our spaces so that we would come to terms with how poorly we’ve regarded those who are different than us, those who disagree with us, those who have offended us. And maybe during this time our hearts will be drawn to the lost, poor, broken and oppressed in our midst. Maybe we will begin to champion the elderly in our lives and learn to treat give them our attention. Maybe relationships will be mended because our hearts will be mended. If this is what God desires of us, it will require humility to take hold of it.
Here are some practical questions to consider:
Who are your enemies…the people you just aren’t getting along with? Have you tried everything at your disposal to reconcile, including bringing in a third party to help you communicate effectively?
Where is there darkness within core relationships in your radius? Could you begin a healthy, humble dialogue to help one another illuminate the unknown so that deeper unity could be achieved?
What’s a question you’ve wanted to ask or something you’ve wanted to say to someone you know well? How about to someone you don’t know well?
Is there anyone who has hurt you whom you haven’t forgiven? Is the forgiveness of Christ granted to you strong enough to empower you to forgive others?
Is there anyone whom you’ve hurt in any way but have yet to confess? Would you consider confessing now? And what would repentance look like?
Who are the least of these in your radius? Is the Lord inviting you to pursue them in some simple, yet meaningful way?
Maybe God’s inviting us to Be Present
Before the virus, we were a very busy society. We seemed in a hurry to be somewhere other than where we were. We thought constantly about the future and rarely lived in the now. A good economy opened up opportunities that put our minds on future dreams and ideas. Social media offered up an ability to escape our current realities and ignore who or what was right before us.
For the Hebrew people, the desert represented a realm in which all of the other distractions were removed so that they could grow in their awareness of the simple voice of God. It was difficult, but it was simple. To know God and to live according to His kingdom requires a certain skillset; the ability to be here, now. Jesus Christ was a master of being fully present. He began his public ministry with a 40-day experience of isolation in the desert.
Maybe that’s what God’s up to. Maybe He has placed us in a situation in which going “there” isn’t an option…we are quarantined to “here.” Maybe He is purposely eliminating the plans for “later” by allowing us to live in a state of mind in which no one knows when things will get back to normal; we must only live in the “now.” If this is true, perhaps it would be beneficial to consider these practical questions in regards to living here and now:
Are there activities that simply pass time or draw you to escape? How could you use the gift of this desert eliminate them completely from your life?
Do you abide in God throughout your day? How can you learn to practically abide in Christ throughout your day during the quarantine so that you can live a more fully present life when things return to normal?
Do you know the voice of God? Do you listen to God as much as you talk to God when you pray? How could you learn to be still and simply know God during this time?
Are you investing fully in the lives of your loved ones?
Are you free? Do you laugh? Do you play games? Do you dance?
When was the last time you just sat and looked at the stars at night or listened to the birds chirp in the morning without a phone in hand?
What are the things you complain about? What are the things that make you feel stressed? What if you sought the glory and presence of God within those areas, here and now?
Maybe God’s inviting us to Re-center Priorities
Before the virus, we tended to say certain things mattered, but lived lives often contradictory to our words. Perhaps we were too busy or too disconnected from community to realize our lack of integrity. For many of us, heading to the gym or finishing a series on Netflix may have taken precedence over being intentional towards things we say matter more. This level of disconnect between our words and actions can fuel depression, anxiety and feelings of condemnation. Hypocrisy destroys us from the inside.
When the Jewish people were sent into exile, it gave them time to really consider their priorities. The result: idols were smashed and the welfare of the city became important again.
Maybe that’s what God’s up to. Maybe He has put us in a position to really think through what we say we value and to allow our lives to line up with our desires. An intentional pursuit of our deepest desires could realign our lives; allowing them to become centered rather than fragmented. Here are some practical questions:
What if you just took an hour to write out the top priorities in your life? Start with number one…this is the one that must be in place in order for all of the other priorities beneath it to have meaning.
What would it look to like to live a life in which each priority was treated as a priority? What does it mean to actually prioritize each priority? How would you go about keeping #1 first above and before #2 (and so on)?
How could you design your life to live characteristically in accordance with the priorities over the next few weeks?
How could you allow community around you to continually encourage you and hold you accountable to keeping your priorities a reality rather than theoretical?
I’m not reading God’s mail…I’m just paying attention to my life and the lives of many around me. Before we take any of these suggestions as being accurate to the heart and intentions of God, let’s commit to ask him and listen to him.
Father, God. We trust that you you are sovereign over everything that is going on in our world. Nothing is going on that didn’t pass across your desk first. We aren’t trying to dissect you or figure you out God. We are just trying to ask what obedience looks like. We want to respond to our situation in the way that gives you the most possible glory. If you have general things you want us to work on as a world, country, city or community…please direct us. If you have something personal for each of us to learn through this so that we may know you, walk with you, and partner with you to make Your Name famous around the world…please direct us. Speak, Lord…we are listening.
If, in your time listening to God or paying attention to your life and the lives around you, you have a sense of what God might be up to, please post below! Let’s keep an ear to heaven together as we search to discern God’s will.