OnFire #162 Photocopiers and God’s Will

Hi folks:

I was away this past week for meetings of a board I serve on, and then needed to catch up, so no letter this past week.

Jan is puttering away at scraping the paint, as you will remember from our last letter. She has slowed down, a little disheartened at first because it seemed like so much time spent for nothing. I see signs, however, that she wants to get back at it.

Mark has had a fever and sore throat this weekend. He’s barely moved off the couch and has watched quite a few old episodes of Partridge Family and Star Trek. He ate supper today, however, so we take this as a sign that he is feeling a little better.

Ian had an appointment in Halifax this week as a follow-up to his e-coli episode this summer. As far as we can tell he seems back to normal. The doctor was pleased with his progress. There is evidence that the toxin is still present in his system, but his body is doing well at recovering. He will go back in another month for more follow-up.

That’s one of the things we were surprised to find out this summer - just how much damage e-coli can do, and how long it stays in the system. But we are also thankful that things are working out so well. Thank you, again, for all of your prayers.

While I was away for the board meetings, I introduced myself to some people who were meeting with the board. Immediately they asked how the boys were doing. I was almost speechless, for these were people I had never met, but they had heard and prayed. Very neat. As a family we have a lot to be thankful for.

Blessings for your week..

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When I was younger, I had some big questions about God’s will for me. I wanted to know what He wanted me to do in specific situations. Should I take a summer job? Should I do something or not? Or, most importantly, was there a special girl God wanted me to date?

Eventually I found answers to all these questions and God pointed me to Jan, but the matter of God’s will still comes up. Life poses some big questions, and we have to sort out what God wants us to do. It took a lot of searching to decide if God was leading us to Moncton. As a pastor I constantly have to determine what I think God is leading us to do this day, this week, and this season. As a father and husband I continue to think and pray about these same things for me and my family.

At one time I thought God’s will was a very big mystery. It was strange and unknown and hard to decipher. It reminds me of using the photocopier at church. I can never remember my code, and then I find all the buttons and menus confusing. I don’t know why this should be. I love sound equipment and think it makes sense, even if the sound board has 700 knobs and buttons. So, even though technology doesn’t bother me, the photocopier remains a mystery.

To get around the problem I have with the copier, I have developed a simple system. I try not to use it. Well, there’s actually a little more to it than that. I try not to use it from its console. All of our church computers are attached to it through out network, and so we can print directly to the photocopier. This is much simpler and easier than trying to figure out the mystery of this machine.

Just like there are some short cuts to using the copier, there are some short cuts to knowing God’s will. This is not to say that I can tell you God’s specific will in a given situation. There are some situations which take no small amount of time to discern God’s specific will.

There are short cuts to knowing God’s general will, however. 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

This passage tells us several things. First, it is possible to have joy, pray, and give thanks regardless of the situation. Paul wouldn’t write this if it weren’t possible.

Second, there are things for which we can have joy and give thanks even when life isn’t going well.

Third, this is always God’s will for us. We don’t have to spend much time learning God’s will for us on joy, prayer, and thanksgiving. He wants us to be enjoy these things in all circumstances.

Is this always easy? Of course not. Even when things are going well, I always seem to be able to find something to whine about, or I just plain forget to give thanks. And then when things are not easy, I find I go into a kind of numbness where I’m just surviving and I’m certainly not looking for things to give thanks over.

I’m glad we have Thanksgiving. Of course I love the food and time with family. But more than that, it is a reminder to me to give thanks, and I don’t know about you, but I need reminders. So happy Thanksgiving, and may we all be able to give thanks in all circumstances.

I hope this helps. Be on fire,

Troy