what in the world is god doing

anybody else find themselves wondering this??

--especially the past few weeks--

we are living through a pivotal time in history. a time like no other. a time full of fear & uncertainty, of heartbreak & confusion. 

but, like, what IS god doing?

as followers of jesus, we know that god has a plan & a purpose for everything (jeremiah 29:11). we know that our way of thinking is not the same as how he thinks (isaiah 55:9). we believe we all have a part to play in god's big plan. but we really can't be an effective part of god's plan if we don't know what he's doing. we should often be asking ourselves, "what is god doing," and then ask ourselves, "what is my response to that?" 

if someone were to ask us, as followers of jesus, "what is god doing letting this all happen right now?" what would our response be? i think it's important we have a response ready & a promise to rely on.

one thing we can all agree upon is that life is a mystery to us. our own lives are a mystery to us. our lives have not always gone according to planned (proverbs 19:21). heck, my morning didn't go according to plan. we each have a plan for the way we see our life going & we can easily get stuck living in our own little stories rather than keeping the perspective that our little story is a working part of god's big story...which is why we have to regularly be asking ourselves, "what is god doing" and "what is my response to that?" 

in 1 peter 1:3-9 we find a plot summary of god's big story of redemption. in verse 3 peter mentions the "past" & in verses 4-6 peter focuses on the "now." this is so important to us because it is often in the "now" where we lose our way. we're constantly looking back through our lives & dwelling on our past disappointments, our past frustrations. living in the "now" can be harder than we think. if we get trapped focusing on our past, we can miss what god is doing in the present. 

a key component of god's big story of redemption, is that god doesn't leave us as we are. that's his redemptive love at work. it wouldn't be love or grace for god to leave us to ourselves. "we often think of grace as a pillow, a cool drink of water, or arms that carry us...maybe grace puts us in places where we feel unable & foolish & needy because THAT grace wants to form things in us that would never be formed in our terminally self-reliant state" -paul david tripp. we often want the grace of relief or release "now" when really what we need "now" is the grace of refinement. that's the gift of "uncomfortable grace."

god allows trials to enter our lives because of his redemptive love. i think we give satan too much credit. trials are inevitable in a believers life. we shouldn't be surprised when hardships come our way. being a follower of jesus, isn't a one-way ticket to easy street. it's quite the opposite--but for good reason! god will take us where we do not want to go to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own. he has to drive us past ourselves--past our own self-reliance--so we will turn to him. 

during difficult times god is doing two things:

1. releasing me from my reliance on me

2. releasing me from my reliance on things of this world

while god most definitely built glory into his created world, the things of this world are only meant to point back to god (colossians 1:16). the beauty all around us in springtime is captivating, but we can't be left worshipping the flowering plant because it's only a sign to remind us of the glory of the creator. it's easy for us, as humans, to get caught up with what's in front of our face, things that are tangible. but this is why god allows trials to enter our lives...to loosen our grip on creation so we can reach for our creator.

anyone feel like their grip on the things of this world has been loosen over the past couple weeks? anyone really leaning into their spiritual walk in the middle of this pandemic? i think we can see where god's hand is at work here. we are living in a time of uncomfortable grace. 

that is his redemptive plan.

that is what god is doing.

you see, we live for comfort & ease & pleasure & predictability. true? yes. i think many would go as far as to describe this as the "american dream." 

marry a good person.

raise great kids.

work a good job.

live in a nice house.

die quickly, without pain.

we want control. we want easy. we want nothing to do with messy or hard.

this world is broken.

as a nation, we chase success & money & influence. we have made idols of celebrities & athletes & even our children. as followers of jesus, we have forgotten the command to seek & advance god's kingdom through discipleship. we have sacrificed the things of god to fill our lives with the things of this world--when really it should be the other way around. sin is a part of our life on earth. struggle & strife are guaranteed. but praise god he uses the brokenness of this world, as an instrument of grace. 

as it says in romans 8:28-39, we know that god works all things for good to those who love him. we know that if god is for us, nothing can stand against us. and we find the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of christ and that even in death, we are conquerers through him who loved us. we have these promises to stand on as we face a world full of uncertainty & fear.

sooo what is god doing?? 

"he's working in us a massive, radical, personal heart change & difficulty is one of his prime tools which allows us to abandon self reliance so we can find god's glory."

-paul david tripp

as a follower of jesus, as a child of god, we don't have to fear the unknown, we don't have to panic in the chaos, we don't have to cower in the face of hardship...because we know what god is doing...and it's for our good...let us give him the glory, in all things.

sources: your walk is a community project study by paul david tripp