Jim Pace

When God doesn’t do it…

March 4, 2011 | 4 Comments

I have a very good friend that is a very godly guy. Over the past several weeks he (and I with many others) have been praying for a job that he would love to have. It seemed like a simple thing, it was a good job, in the field he was interested in, in an exciting city. He had a good confidence that he should go for it and felt good as he prayed for it.

He heard a couple of days ago that he didn’t get it.

Our oldest son, Noah, had the following math problem that I was helping him with last night. “If (some random) high peak in Ohio is 2480 ft above sea level and (some random) low point is 5089% lower, what is the elevation of that low point? He and I were both confused and worked on this problem for about 15 or 20 minutes. Hear that Mr. Knautz? That is dedication! 🙂

Our search for the right process was confusing and frustrating, but there was a resolution when we discovered the right way to set up a proportion, solve for x and get the low point’s elevation.

We were confused, it took a while to find the right equation, but we found it, punched in the numbers, solved for x and walked away with the right answer.

My friend’s problem isn’t that easy to solve. If God has power, awareness and love for my friend, then why didn’t he come through? There is no formulaic equation for that one. No stable x to solve for. Henri Nouwen said it like this.

“Theological formation is the gradual and often painful discovery of God’s incomprehensibility. You can be competent in many things, but you cannot be competent in God.”

Certainly there are many things that we can discover in the scriptures and cling to, I have experienced that personally. But we cannot ever get to the point that God becomes predictable to us. That we approach him in prayer and can be certain that we will get what we ask for the way we asked for it in the timeline we have in mind.

So what is the point of faith and prayer? I believe that faith receives its clearest definition in the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11. Here is what is said about faith. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11.1 NIV. It seems simple enough. It is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don’t see.

But it isn’t that simple, is it?

First we know that we can occasionally hope for the wrong things. My motives aren’t always very good. Hopefully they are getting more aligned with Christ’s heart, but I am confronted with my brokenness daily, and that brokenness does sometimes leak out into what I ask God for. So, if I hope for something that is wrong, the book of James tells me that I won’t get it. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4.3 NIV. Yup, I’ve done that plenty of times.

So, if being certain of whatever we hope for isn’t right, what should we do? Assume Hebrews 11 is wrong? I don’t think so, I think the problem is that we aren’t looking deep enough to get to what we can be assured and certain of. It needs to be a bit deeper than a specific request.

I wonder if we just misunderstand that verse a bit. On Monday I will share what I think and then help me see if I am missing anything…

Peace, Jim

Categories: Church, Culture, Mission, Should We Fire God?, Sticky Issues