"THAT is the right question."

I don't remember much about the movie I, Robot. I enjoyed it, but it IS a guy movie, and while I like guys movies, sometimes I'm not too good at remember the details. One thing I do remember, though, is the heavy emphasis that was put on asking the "right questions." Only when the characters asked "the right questions" (whatever THAT meant!) would they receive the answers they needed.

Recently, I have had a LOT of questions for God. In my search for a new job, my questions have gone something like this: "God, what should I do?" "God, what type of job should I look for?" "God, where should I apply?" "God, what type of avenues should I try?"... etc., etc. You get the idea. But notice the key word in all these questions. "I." A big, fat "I." Though I was trying to do the right thing in asking God's advice, the phrasing of my questions betrays the fact that my reliance was still in the wrong place! All those questions I was asking were to a very distant God. I was asking God to look down from heaven and tell me down on earth what to do. Then I could go out and carry it out.

Here's another question. If we have a God who is willing to go to battle FOR us, willing to actively CARE for us, willing to move mountains and part seas, why on EARTH would I ask His ADVICE?! What I should be asking is for HIM to go to battle for me, for HIM to pull together all the details that I can't control, for HIM to open the doors that I have no way of opening, and for HIM to make the way for me! He has shown over and over again in His word and in my life that He is MORE than willing to do that. In fact, He is just WAITING for someone to ask Him to do something awesome!

I finally came to this realization a couple Saturdays ago during my prayer time. For the millionth time I was asking God in desperation, "What should I do?" When I suddenly realized.

Maybe that's the wrong question.

Since that day, I've had to make a conscious effort to change my prayers. It has been hard to change my mindset so drastically, but I realized that my reliance needed to be on God and God alone. I know that even a lot of Christians would say that I still needed to be "proactive" and still be "trying doors," but believe me, I've been proactively trying doors for a year now, and I have faced frustration after frustration. I decided to give God a try. I decided to stop trying myself. And I started asking God if HE would open the doors and if HE would please work it out so that everyone around me would know that it was HIS handiwork and not mine.

And apparently, THAT is the right question.

God was just waiting for me to ask Him to reveal HIS power!

He has, and I will be happy to tell you all about it... in my next post. :)

Ask God to do something great. Ask Him to make it His work and not yours. Then step back and watch what He will do!

Welcome, Joanna!

Have you ever noticed how excited electronic devices get whenever we approach them? Log into your email, and your computer responds with "Welcome, insert your name here!" Then eagerly fills you in with the latest-- "You have 6 unread messages!" And obligingly asks, "Would you like to insert random command now?" But the sad reality is that in spite of this appearance of friendship, our computers don't actually care much about our happiness. They can turn on us in an instant with one of those heartless messages, such as, "Critical program has experienced an unexpected error and must now close. You will lose any unsaved work. Would you like to continue?" To which in response you have no choice but to click OKAY or take a chainsaw to your computer, as the CANCEL button is generally not an option.

Obviously, computers cannot be relied on to be consistent friends, and unfortunately, I'm finding that life is often very similar. Like many of my peers, I had some idea that life after graduation would suddenly simplify. Well, the joke's on me! Looking ahead to my graduation I saw the rest of my life with a cheery "Welcome, Joanna!" sign over it, not realizing that just like my computer, that sign can just as quickly be followed by an error message. My computer, despite being on of my greatest allies, has an alarming propensity to turn on me suddenly, and I'm starting to notice the same pattern in "life in the real world." Just when you think everything's developing all peachy keen, you get an "Operation must be aborted" message, and you're back to ground zero.

If there's one thing I've learned from all I've been through with my computer, it is that sometimes patience is the only option. Trust me, screaming at your screen, pressing every key at once, and banging your fist on your desk next to the monitor will generally just leave you hoarse, with a sticky keyboard and a bruised hand. The computer will remain unresponsive. Sometimes, you just have to wait. And unfortunately for me, who would really prefer the high-speed, error free route, life in general is seeming to be a lot like my computer.

Sometimes you just have to wait.

So this is me, at present. I'm waiting. And like my good friend Rachel, I try to use humor to see the lighter side of my life's error messages. Sometimes my computer's less-than-lightening pace makes me want to put my fist through the screen, and sometimes the pace of my life makes me want to put my head through a wall, but usually I don't do either. In this crazy American-paced culture, maybe it's good to slow down and have to wait sometimes.

And here's the promise. As certain as I am the morning will come tomorrow morning, I am that much more certain that God will be faithful to work out His plan in my life.

PSALM 130:5-6

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.