THE GAME OF CHICKEN

              

“God must love the game of chicken because He plays it with us all the time.

He has this habit of waiting until the very last moment to answer our prayer to see if we will chicken out or pray through. 

If we chicken out, we miss out on the miracle; if we pray through, God will come through, but it may well be at the last moment possible. 

And, of course, if you chicken out of the game of chicken God will always give you another chance to get back in the game.

This pattern of last-second provision is repeated throughout Scripture, and I think it reveals God’s playful personality. 

Sometimes we are so focused on the character of God that we forget that God has a personality too. 

He loves hiding around corners and surprising us. 

You can’t convince me that Jesus didn’t have fun sneaking up on the disciples in the middle of the night in the middle of the lake by walking on water. 

You can’t convince me that God didn’t enjoy the befuddled look on Moses’ face when he heard the talking bush. 

As I read Scripture, I can come to no other conclusion than this: God loves showing up in unexpected ways at unexpected times.

I love this part of God’s personality. 

While it sometimes adds stress, it also adds drama. 

In big and small ways, it is prayer that adds the unexpected twists and turns in our personal plotlines that make life worth living. 

It is prayer that precipitates and culminates in the climatic moments when God shows up in dramatic fashion. 

It is prayer that can turn any story, your story, into an epic drama.

I have scribbled the initials JEJIT in the margins of my Bible at various places where God provides just enough just in time. 

He did it with the widow who is down to her last jar of olive oil. 

He did it when the Israelites are trapped between the Egyptian army and Red Sea. 

He did it when the boat is about t capsize on the Sea of Galilee because of hurricane-force winds.

 And He did it with us when we had twenty-four hours to come up with $7,500.

Maybe you’re in a desperate situation right now. 

It feels like you’re down to your last jar of olive oil, or the Egyptian army is closing in on you, or your boat is about to capsize. 

It may seem like God is nowhere to be seen, but maybe God is setting the stage for a miracle. 

This I know for sure: God is always stage right. He’s ready to make His grand entrance. 

All He is waiting for is your prayer cue.”

Taken from Mark Batterson’s book The Circle Maker (pgs 109 & 110)

(See my post THE CIRCLE MAKER on 4/27/12, and also PRAYING FOR VERSES PRAYING THROUGH on 4/29/12, by the same author)

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.” (Ps. 37:23, NKJKV)

“Wait on the LORD; Be of courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” (Ps. 27:14, NKJV)

Tonight’s post:  WHAT’S THE PURPOSE?

Okay, where is it? I was talking with my son on my cell phone, sitting in my car the other day. I thought it was time that I charged the phone with the car charger, as I'd left my house charger at home. I looked around for it, went back into the house and began looking on the table, where I'd been sitting. My husband asked what I was looking for. I said "My phone". My son then said on the phone, "Mother, it's in your hand!" We all had a good laugh!

Tomorrow's post: PROPHETIC WORDS GIVEN