It may be that the LORD will act for us…

 

Thursday, June 15, 2023


Psalm 104:1-25

1 Samuel 13:19-14:15

Acts 9:1-9


Observance: Evelyn Underhill, spiritual writer (d. 1941)


It may be that the LORD will act for us…


Modern philosophical trends are funny in how they seem to be trying to solve problems that God has already solved in Jesus Christ. Take for example mindfulness: the idea that even when we are brushing our teeth, we can mentally stop and take note of what is going on, and thereby put our minds at ease. The idea behind mindfulness is, effectively, if we stop performing actions by instinct and instead be thoughtful and deliberate about everything, then the “noise” in the brain will go away and we will be at peace.


The providence of God over all time and space, combined with our knowledge of Emmanuel – that God is with us – is like setting mindfulness on fire.


God is the one in whom we live and move and have our being. And Christ is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Every action we take, therefore, is not graded on a scale of closer or further away from God. If we go out to the closest set of shops and start handing out evangelistic tracts, or go deep into the bush for a long time of hermetic mystical reflection, we are no closer or further away from the presence of God and His control over the universe than when we brush our teeth.


This is a real and tangible freedom we have over our own actions, as paradoxical as that sounds. We don’t need to worry about whether God wants us here or there, or doing this or that: we will find out soon enough. Jonathon’s bravery is not that he ran up to the enemy army with only one other soldier. His bravery was that he was able to free his attachment to his own future enough to allow God to direct it for him. Try everything out: try out that new curry house everyone keeps talking about; try out volunteering at that charity you keep thinking about; try out that new way of praying you keep hearing about. The victory is God’s victory: it may be that you are the one through whom God wants to work out that victory.

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