How Much Control Does God Have of our Daily Lives?
One summer when I was sixteen I served as a camp counselor at a Catholic campground in southern Ohio. We were having a family activity one night there and it was family rosary. Which for you non catholic readers basically a prayer night. We were outside in a grassy plain. However a large amount of gray clouds hovered over us threatening to ruin our night. The priest who was leading the rosary reached out his hands and prayed this, "Lord please hold back the rain so your people can pray." As soon as he said this a huge crackle of thunder banged, and rain began to pour hard. We all became soaked and retreated into a covered pavilion. I could not help but chuckle about how the plea of the priest was ignored. The look on his face, and tone of his voice seemed as if the red sea would have parted in front of us.
I have always remembered this story whenever I myself cried out to God for a miracle. I too chuckle at myself when it seems like I get no answer or the wrong answer. In life we always seem to run into people who believe God has planned out everything to the exact T in their life. God guiding them to choose the exact shirt to wear. It was God's will for them to eat corn flakes instead of raisin brand and it was God's will and timing that they got the parking space right next to the grocery store. While it is great to be thankful to God for blessings and little gifts he bestows on us throughout the day, It is downright dangerous for us to think were a sail boat that drifts wherever the wind takes us.
In my example we are the sail boat and God is the wind. In our human lives this example works just the same. The wind can push the boat for miles every once in awhile but It does not constantly push us. Most of the day the boat just sits there being jolted or slightly swayed. At times there is no wind and the boat goes where the tide takes it. So too we act if we assume everything is God's will. Because to understand God's will we must first be able to discern it. So should I eat cornflakes or cocoa puffs? What does God want lol? Well cornflakes are healthier and that will probably make my day more productive and I will have a clearer mind for prayer time. Does God care if I eat cornflakes? I don't know, but if I eat cocoa puffs all the time I would get fat.
Well what job does God want to me to work? Should I be a doctor or lawyer? Well maybe I need to discern which job suits my personality and ambitions better and God will be with me in either one. The boat must search to find direction and a course to take. There are boats around us who help guide us on our journey, but we ultimately decide where we go. The ocean is long and vast just like life seems long and unknown. We know the little we are given and learn on the way but we are the captains of our ship.
God's will is not magical but at the same time it is! There is miracles and than there's just rain storms that help make the grass and plants grow.
I have always remembered this story whenever I myself cried out to God for a miracle. I too chuckle at myself when it seems like I get no answer or the wrong answer. In life we always seem to run into people who believe God has planned out everything to the exact T in their life. God guiding them to choose the exact shirt to wear. It was God's will for them to eat corn flakes instead of raisin brand and it was God's will and timing that they got the parking space right next to the grocery store. While it is great to be thankful to God for blessings and little gifts he bestows on us throughout the day, It is downright dangerous for us to think were a sail boat that drifts wherever the wind takes us.
In my example we are the sail boat and God is the wind. In our human lives this example works just the same. The wind can push the boat for miles every once in awhile but It does not constantly push us. Most of the day the boat just sits there being jolted or slightly swayed. At times there is no wind and the boat goes where the tide takes it. So too we act if we assume everything is God's will. Because to understand God's will we must first be able to discern it. So should I eat cornflakes or cocoa puffs? What does God want lol? Well cornflakes are healthier and that will probably make my day more productive and I will have a clearer mind for prayer time. Does God care if I eat cornflakes? I don't know, but if I eat cocoa puffs all the time I would get fat.
Well what job does God want to me to work? Should I be a doctor or lawyer? Well maybe I need to discern which job suits my personality and ambitions better and God will be with me in either one. The boat must search to find direction and a course to take. There are boats around us who help guide us on our journey, but we ultimately decide where we go. The ocean is long and vast just like life seems long and unknown. We know the little we are given and learn on the way but we are the captains of our ship.
God's will is not magical but at the same time it is! There is miracles and than there's just rain storms that help make the grass and plants grow.
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