"God's got someone in mind already"

I finally put my finger on what bugs me about that statement.  "Well, God's already got someone who is perfect for that position that needs to be filled," or its companion statement, "Well, God needed that person to be here for just that time."

I don't disagree with the truth of those statements (if we are to accept God is all powerful and all knowing, here is a little bit of that side, and yet over and over the Bible says that Godly men led by God still have the freedom to choose, which is confusing, but that's not my focus this morning).  It's the sentiment behind it.  It's the shrug-your-shoulders, kick-the-dirt-around-your-feet, I-can't-control-it-so-I'm-just-gonna-endure-it attitude.  If something is moving and shaking, if there are major changes, if someone is brought into a position of leadership or power or suddenly removed, if life is going one way and then takes a huge U-turn, then God is doing something and our obligation is to respond and change something about ourselves.

I mean, isn't that the story of the entire Old Testament?  God does something, Israelites turn to God, Israelites get distracted, God does something to regain their focus, Israelites turn to God again, they get distracted again. . .  it seems inevitable.  But at some point the Israelites stopped turning to God, so He started to do bigger things. He eventually split their nation, sent them into exile, and nearly wiped them out; they were saved only because God in His perfect mercy had promised it.

So when people say things like what I wrote above, and then walk away without a fire under them, I am confused.  But it's not what they are saying that is wrong; it's how they are responding.  And by they I definitely mean ME as well.

A big change is an opportunity for us to refocus our hearts on God, to check our priorities and our habits and see what things have slipped away, what idols we've brought back into our homes and what unclean influences we've stitched back into the fabric of our lives.  It's a time to seek God more than ever, to search diligently and be sure that we are in line with God's will and not our own.  We forget that the Israelites asked God for a king, and God didn't want them to have a king.  And look how that turned out. . . . . AND, if God knew that David would be a better king (and he certainly wasn't perfect either!) then why bother with Saul?  Is it possible that the "someone who is perfect for the position" is perfectly in a position to fail the people of God?

Because that's the other premise that lacks validity in the title statement.  We assume success!!  "If God is for us, who can be against us?" is a statement about persecution against the church, not within it!  Paul's letters to the various churches growing in his time encouraged them to continue to grow closer and closer with Christ, to get rid of the sin problems, to challenge false teachers. . . essentially, to build God's people.  Even when he talks about logistical things, like collecting money to help those in need, his focus was not on the process of giving but on the hearts of the givers!
Anyway, the real tragedy is we assume success without analyzing why the change is happening.  Some changes are within our control, some aren't, but regardless, how boastful are we to say that the person God brings us is to take us to the next level!  Or. . . perhaps we just don't realize that when we say "the next level" that does not mean human success. . . maybe it's a way to get rid of spiritual decay. . . but no matter the end result, if at the end of the day we are not seeking Christ in our life circumstance and in the changing circumstance(s) around us, then, regardless of what God does or who God chooses, we have missed the boat.

I don't know.  I'm babbling.  The point I'm trying to make is statements of "faith" in God's plan that don't result in individual action are not worth much.