This past month was an “Ask the Lord” month for the squad. The idea is that you let God lead and provide when it comes to ministry opportunities, housing, location, etc. — all the things that are normally predetermined when we land in a country are left up to prayerful decision making and the Lord’s tangible goodness.
The entire month can instill this fear inside your mind, the enemy planting questions like where will we stay? What will we do? What if we end up with no roof over our heads? What if we miss God completely in the process? What is God’s will for us in this time? What if we do it wrong?!
God’s will–that’s where everyone gets caught up. This fear of missing “what God has for us” stunts our growth as disciples of Jesus and leaves us misunderstanding who and what God is.
If I could sum up everything I’ve learned about God through this month of “Ask the Lord”, it is this–God is not a magic eight ball.
Let me start with laying out who and what God is:
- Creator of the universe
- Good and patient Father
- Rabbi and teacher
- Provider and protector
- Helper and friend
- Counselor and comforter
- Perfectly just and righteous
- Redeemer and restorer
- King of Kings and Lord of Lords
- Emanuel, meaning “with us”
- Holy, holy, holy
… and about a million other names and identities. If you want to know more, I’d recommend this incredible resource to you:
The Holy Bible.
Anyways… I say all of those things, and implore you to read for yourself about the nature and character of God, because knowing WHO and WHAT God is also helps us to differentiate who and what God is NOT.
God is not:
- dead
- made up (Atheism)
- the universe (Pantheism)
- unjust, unloving, or cruel (as some people might like to say, especially in today’s social climate)
- absent, distant, or indifferent (as others might like to claim)
- a genie in a lamp, waiting to be beckoned by us to wake up and do our bidding
And a new one I added to the list this month:
- a magic eight ball
I hope you remember them: black smooth plastic, able to fit perfectly between two child’s hands and shaken vigorously to reveal to us our certain future. Anxious anticipation as we wait for the answer to settle inside and we peer through the blue-green liquid to read our fate… yes, no, maybe.
Cute and fun for a child’s game, but absolutely not how our relationship with the God of the Universe should be.
When we pray, we should pray like Jesus taught the disciples:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9-10)
YOUR kingdom come, YOUR will be done. God’s kingdom, God’s will. His way, His timing.
And when we act, we should do what Jesus instructed the disciples:
“’Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.’ This is the great and supreme commandment. And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend in the same way you love yourself.’” (Matthew? ?22:37-39? ?TPT??)
And also, “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Love God. Love your neighbors. Honor God. Serve people. Meet tangible needs. Share the gospel. Disciple, baptize, and teach.
Many people won’t believe the Love we talk about until they’ve seen the same Love in action.
A pastor I really respect shared an enlightening explanation on the will of God recently:
He explained the will of God as a playground with a fence around it.
The fence represents the boundaries of what God would have us do with our lives. We can gain a clear understanding of the boundaries God gives us by evaluating the Scriptures.
The playground gives us options: we can swing or slide or climb on the monkey bars. We can play in the sand box or slide down the fireman’s pole. We can climb to the highest point on the playground, imagining ourselves as queens and kings, or hide under the lowest parts, playing hide and seek.
When we approach God with a clouded view, we sit in anticipation and beg our Father above for a clear answer: God, should I slide or swing?!
We pick up our magic eight ball and shake it with all our childish might, imploring, God, should I do this?
We wait and wait and find ourselves discouraged when we don’t hear a distinct yes, no, or maybe. The enemy begins to whisper to us, God doesn’t hear you. He’s not listening. He doesn’t speak to you. You don’t hear His voice.
And in reality, God was already clear on what he wanted us to do: play on the playground! Stay inside the fence, but enjoy the options I’ve given you.
As long as we stay within the boundaries, God has given us the ability, wisdom, and discernment to make decisions that glorify Him.
And as we go and as we grow, we continually make better decisions based on what we’ve learned, where we’ve failed, and where God has corrected us in His ever gentle way.
Some examples of what I mean by that as it relates to the playground:
Maybe I learned that when I play hide and seek, I get to invite everyone in, but when I sit on the swings I get to know the person beside me more intentionally.
Maybe I climbed outside the fence, thinking the grass looked greener, and got hurt–but my loving Father picked me up and brushed me off and put me back inside the yard to play again.
Maybe I spent all my days playing on the slide, until God opened my eyes to the one playing alone in the sand box, longing for a friend.
God is loving and kind, patient and good. He’s got good plans for me and for you. I trust Him and I trust that when He said He’d send a Helper to live inside of me, He was serious about it (John 14:16-17).
And so I trust that the Helper is truly helping me, and that I do have the ability to make wise and good decisions, because I’m made in the image of my God and every day I walk with Him, I grow to look more like my Dad.
Tomorrow morning the squad will converge upon the Panama City airport and fly together to Peru! My team will be staying in the Ica province working with a local church.
Please pray:
- for traveling mercies, for each team and the squad as a whole.
- for the new ministry my team has in Peru! Let us be faithful and let it be fruitful.
- for me, for wisdom and patience and my desire for the Word of God to grow tenfold again and again.
Hey, Emily! I love your vision of “who God is” and “who He isn’t”…..so GOOD! I love that you seek Him in His Word always. Thank you for encouraging others to do the same. We are praying for all the things you ask! We love you so much! Let’s GO PERU!
Em.
Thanks again for the inspiring message. Each time I see the post, I grab my coffee and journal because I want to be attentive ; ) and ready to write! Not a Magic 8-ball?! I LOVE it. And the playground? That analogy hit me so well and I’m stealing it…well, borrowing it, for conversations of my own. Finally. “Your will be done”. That simple reminder of how Jesus taught us to trust God are four quick words placed together that bear repeating every day. (Like, every time I wonder or doubt?)
The way you are trusting more deeply as you journey is a great example to so many. Me included. Keep it up and know that we are in prayer for you and the entire team and ministry.
M&J.
So good, Em! Love the whole playground idea. I love that God gives us freedom to explore things in His boundaries. We aren’t cookie cutter people–we are all made differently and thrive differently. We don’t all have to look the same and do the same things. God uses the gifts and abilities He’s put within us. Amen!!