There is no formula for God

I had the divine pleasure to sit and talk with friends for hours last night talking about life! It was incredible! It’s one reason why I love EMU so much! As we tried to figure out life and our callings and what we ought to do with our education, we kept coming back to this one frustrating truth: There is no formula for God. It’s annoying really. So many Christians live to figure out what God is all about and what His will is for them. They attempt to please Him and spread Jesus’ story to others. That’s all good and well, but it’s not anything simple. You can't learn all about it in class. You can't master a strategy. You can't buy the knowledge of who God is. You can't use a formula for God!

So if I go to church every Sunday morning and some extra church event during the week and read my Bible 15 minutes a day and pray before every meal and don’t sin too much then whenever I need something from God He’ll give it to me. If I need help choosing a career then He’ll tell me. If I need help with a relationship then He’ll help me. If I need to learn some lesson then He’ll teach me. If I need to conquer some fear then He'll strengthen me. If I've done X, Y and Z then when it comes time for God to be God, He will and my life will be perfect. Nope. Never going to happen.

I posed this question: Does God ever make promises He never intends to keep? "Promises" isn't the right word obviously, but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it at that time. Here's a better way: Does God ever tell you something will happen and then make sure it doesn't happen just to remind you that He is in control? Just when you think you have it figured out, you've been feeling peace and contentment for years on the path you are on and you are so close to making a gigantic difference in the world for God, He pulls out the rug and says: "Stop! I'm in control. So don't think you know the direction I'm leading." Does God do that?

We can get so set on our patterns of life. We can have this one song that always fills our hearts with worship; we can have this one place that fills us with God's presence; we can have this one friend that always shows us Christ at work; and then just to tell us that we haven't figured Him out, God'll pull it all away and remove all its meaning.

It would be so nice if we could say, if you aren't content with life then God wants you some other place. It would be so nice if we could say, if you are at peace then you are exactly who God wants you to be. But then we'd have figured out God. So what if we have no idea where God wants us to go or what God wants us to do or who God wants us to be and we are just asked to walk along blindly? What if we cannot rely on peace for our decisions? What if we are asked to live in discontentment as God tests our faith? What if God never gives us the courage to do that one thing that we should do and expects us to do it anyway? What if God doesn't help us with a decision and expects us just to make it and see Him work through whatever we choose?

No one has figured God out and no one ever will! All we can do is be obedient when His will is clear and always live in faith that He indeed is God.