Does God Talk Cheap To Me? Posted by Rom on Monday, August 11, 2008 at 16:44

God's plan is not about a job, a course or a person.
it's not this company or that university or this career.
his perfect will is not about the next "significant" person i'll meet,
nor is his best plan what eventually turns up or what just works out.

he doesn't think in terms of names, dates or events;
it's not the brand of my clothes or the size of my bible,
not the next professor or boss i'll have being better than now,
or the "different life" i may have had if only i "made that choice".

because whatever happens to me, 'round me, and with the rest of the world,
it's not the situation being with me, but me being in the situation
so with God, what matters is not what i've done, am doing, i'll do
but the person inside - the "why" - my character.

no matter what job or career or pain or joy i will be in
whether i eat at this restaurant or shop at that store
if i write this song or watch that movie
i would still have the same character issues in me.

i may be in a situation that i regret right now and say,
"maybe my life would be better if i were in another planet."
but whether i'm studying or working or married or single
i would still have the same character issues in me.

and these character issues are what he works on,
what he forms, deals with, works with and finishes
it's my attitude why i work with this person --
my motive why i do this, serve him, talk to her, show them.

it's how i deal with a choice given to me
how i approach a matter and react to the stimulus
why i made the decision, not really the decision i made
my heart, my motive, my mind, my thoughts.

and that's why i have the bible!
not to look for my course in it, or my job or position
not to use it as a spelled-out map of my life
but to grab it as a pattern that i mold myself into.

that solves how i could reconcile my life with God's word:
just because the bible has no computers, magazines, mp3 players,
watches, skateboards, cheesecake, photo printers
does not mean that it will now be irrelevant in my life.

it may not have job titles as "production manager" or
"professor 7" or "genetic operations assistant";
it may not have names as lizzie, drew, jennifer, cow, chicken;
or flights to l.a. or train rides to venice.

but see, it's not about the things, not about the situations,
not even about the choices that are made,
but it's about how the people got to a decision
how they made a choice, approached a situation - the "why".

it's about why abraham made that difficult trade-off
why peter vehemently denied real facts about him
why esther went on a diet even if she had no need to lose weight
why samson killed that lion, why david wrote that song

why paul did excellently in his studies
why moses hired assistants
why saul burned the meat on the altar
why the blind man cried.

since God's will is about my heart, my attitude, my motive
that's how i will get to know what his plan is for me
it's not so much about what choice i make, what situation i'll be in
but the reason why i made that choice, and how i'll handle the situation

it's how i could make him nod his head with my words
how i could bring a tear to his eye with my hands
how i could puff his heart up with my thoughts
how i could make that sweet face of his smile with my whole being.

that's why God's timing is "lousy", because he's not bound by time;
that's why his plans are perfect, because they have real joy;
that's why it's not about things done or not done; because he's the love story;
that's why i can't make it without him, bec he's my perfection.

so the next time i read my bible or listen to God's voice
i'll know better than to look for specifics when i don't need to;
more of the bible i'll read so i could train myself to think --
to think the way jesus does. that's when his perfect will kicks in.

then i'll know what to do.

=====
copyright © 2008 by romel r. saplaco. all rights reserved.
do not use without permission.