Jamie's Column July 2005

If God wants something, he will provide a way.

I don't know who said that, but that simple phrase has reoccurred in my dreaming and thinking recently. It is both a challenge and a source of comfort and hope. On the challenge side, that statement reminds me that God does have an intention for my life and the life of our world. God, I believe, wants something of me. God wants to be in relationship with me. God wants me to be guided by the example of Jesus in my relationships with others. God wants me to enjoy the fullness of life (a fully human life) revealed by the life of Jesus. And what he wants for me, he wants for all of us. God also, wants, I believe, a world where justice and peace are the norm--a world where "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." When I take an inventory, therefore, of my own life, and the current state of affairs of the world, if God wants something God has lots of work to do. And I do too. That simple statement, "If God wants something, he will provide a way," means that I need to dig deeper to discern what God wants. And that will always be a challenge.

On the other hand, that statement reminds me that I don't have to do it all myself. I have to admit that there are occasions in the vocation of ministry when it is easy to become dispirited and discouraged. I suppose the same could be said for most other vocations as well. There always seems to be a large gap between our ideal expectations and reality. Time for all of us is at a premium and there never seems to be enough of it to get it all done. We never seem to have enough money. The plans we make crash and burn when life intervenes, as it always does. At the end of some days I look back and wonder just where I have been. It's hard to measure progress when your job is to announce the reality that the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. How do you measure something like that?

But then I realize, I don't have to do it all by myself. If God wants something, God will provide a way. God is in this crazy, mixed up world, and in each of our lives in hidden, but powerful, ways. I find that a liberating notion. I’m not in charge here. God is.

In the less frantic and more laid-back days of summer that notion is something that is easier for me to internalize and celebrate. May it be that way for you too, as you seek to discover Go's intentions and do them. God certainly wants something, and that something may just be, "Relax!"

In God's peace,

Jamie