Have you ever watched the movie Bruce Almighty? It is a movie about Bruce (Jim Carey) who, at the end of what seems to be the worst day in his life, angrily ridicules and rages against God.
Bruce doesn't think the world is treating him fairly, and life just doesn't seem to go right for him, so he blames God for all of his problems (sound familar?!).
One of the most memorable scenes of the movie was when Bruce was at the end of his bad day, standing by the river broken and in utter despair, loudly begging to hear from God. When he didnt hear anything or get any "signs" as he had asked for (even though he actually got lots of signs, but didnt recognize they were from God), he yells out "SMITE ME, OL' MIGHTY SMITER!"
And prior to that defining moment, he had even said to his girlfriend, "I am not being a martyr. I'm the victim. God is a mean kid over an anthill with a magnifying glass, and I'm the ant. He could fix my life in five minutes if he wanted to, but he'd rather burn off my feelers, and watch me squirm!"
As a result of hearing these inflammatory words, God responds to Bruce in human form, and endows all of His divine powers onto Bruce, challenging him to take on His job to see if he can do better at running the universe.
Once Bruce realized the power he held in his hands, he thought everything would be great, care free, perfect, and just as he had always wanted. However, what he didnt realize was that just because he had power to make things happen, didnt mean he knew what really needed to happen. His powers were worthless, without the divine knowledge to go along with it.
Have you ever felt like you were a little ant on a hill, and a large magnifying glass from the sky was burning off your emotions and energy and making you squirm? Have you ever felt like God was the ol' mighty smiter?
I know, I know. None of us would ever want to admit that we have ever thought that way. A good Christian should be thankful for their troubles, and believe that we will become a better person because of them. Right? We should recognize that God ordains and allows all of them, and trust that God has a purpose and a plan for these trials.... right?
Those are definitely the ways that God wants us to think, but sometimes it is just so hard to think like Him, when we are caught up in being ourselves. It is hard to face overwhelming hardships and difficult challenges with a positive outlook, when the present circumstances are so negative. Its hard to believe that something good, can come out of something so bad, when we are drowning in hopelessness and despair.
Friends, that is where Gods grace comes in. If you are anything like me, I not only get sucked into wishing I had Gods powers to change things in my life, but then I feel guilty for not trusting that God knows is best! But God knows my heart, and gives me His grace and forgiveness, as He does for you.
Sometimes I still find myself secretly wishing that I was Bruce Almighty, aka, God Almighty. I wish I had the power to make disease leave the bodies of my loved ones; to mend relationships that were destroyed; to fix things within and about myself that I dont really like; to give my loved ones financial security; to make my kids get along better; to change things in our world and our economy; to turn our country back to Jesus.
Hmmmmm...... but if I did have those powers, would I really know how to make the right choices? Would I know which things to change, and in what way to change them? Would I understand the domino effect of consequences that could occur, even by making positive changes? Would I realize how I might alter Gods ultimate plan by forcing things to happen in the ways that I thought best? Of course not, which is why God is God, and not me.
The thought of having the power to change things seems exciting at first, but if we consider all the aspects, it also seems overwhelming and scary. I would much rather leave the future in Gods hands, instead of trying to figure it out on my own, which is the conclusion that Bruce came to in the movie.
At the end of the movie, when Bruce had had all he could take at trying to be God, he raised his hands in the air and screamed out these words to the heavens: "Okay, You win. I'm done. Please, I don't wanna do this anymore. I don't wanna be God! I want You to decide what's right for me! I surrender to your will! "
That is what God really wants to hear from us too. Even though we may wish with all our hearts that He would instantly meet our prayer requests, answer our pleas, and change our circumstances, we have to believe that He always knows best. That His timing is perfect. That His ways, are not our ways, and just because we dont understand or agree, certainly doesnt mean that He is an ol' mighty smiter. In fact, I bet God doesnt even own a big magnifying glass.
Smiles.
Bruce doesn't think the world is treating him fairly, and life just doesn't seem to go right for him, so he blames God for all of his problems (sound familar?!).
One of the most memorable scenes of the movie was when Bruce was at the end of his bad day, standing by the river broken and in utter despair, loudly begging to hear from God. When he didnt hear anything or get any "signs" as he had asked for (even though he actually got lots of signs, but didnt recognize they were from God), he yells out "SMITE ME, OL' MIGHTY SMITER!"
And prior to that defining moment, he had even said to his girlfriend, "I am not being a martyr. I'm the victim. God is a mean kid over an anthill with a magnifying glass, and I'm the ant. He could fix my life in five minutes if he wanted to, but he'd rather burn off my feelers, and watch me squirm!"
As a result of hearing these inflammatory words, God responds to Bruce in human form, and endows all of His divine powers onto Bruce, challenging him to take on His job to see if he can do better at running the universe.
Once Bruce realized the power he held in his hands, he thought everything would be great, care free, perfect, and just as he had always wanted. However, what he didnt realize was that just because he had power to make things happen, didnt mean he knew what really needed to happen. His powers were worthless, without the divine knowledge to go along with it.
Have you ever felt like you were a little ant on a hill, and a large magnifying glass from the sky was burning off your emotions and energy and making you squirm? Have you ever felt like God was the ol' mighty smiter?
I know, I know. None of us would ever want to admit that we have ever thought that way. A good Christian should be thankful for their troubles, and believe that we will become a better person because of them. Right? We should recognize that God ordains and allows all of them, and trust that God has a purpose and a plan for these trials.... right?
Those are definitely the ways that God wants us to think, but sometimes it is just so hard to think like Him, when we are caught up in being ourselves. It is hard to face overwhelming hardships and difficult challenges with a positive outlook, when the present circumstances are so negative. Its hard to believe that something good, can come out of something so bad, when we are drowning in hopelessness and despair.
Friends, that is where Gods grace comes in. If you are anything like me, I not only get sucked into wishing I had Gods powers to change things in my life, but then I feel guilty for not trusting that God knows is best! But God knows my heart, and gives me His grace and forgiveness, as He does for you.
Sometimes I still find myself secretly wishing that I was Bruce Almighty, aka, God Almighty. I wish I had the power to make disease leave the bodies of my loved ones; to mend relationships that were destroyed; to fix things within and about myself that I dont really like; to give my loved ones financial security; to make my kids get along better; to change things in our world and our economy; to turn our country back to Jesus.
Hmmmmm...... but if I did have those powers, would I really know how to make the right choices? Would I know which things to change, and in what way to change them? Would I understand the domino effect of consequences that could occur, even by making positive changes? Would I realize how I might alter Gods ultimate plan by forcing things to happen in the ways that I thought best? Of course not, which is why God is God, and not me.
The thought of having the power to change things seems exciting at first, but if we consider all the aspects, it also seems overwhelming and scary. I would much rather leave the future in Gods hands, instead of trying to figure it out on my own, which is the conclusion that Bruce came to in the movie.
At the end of the movie, when Bruce had had all he could take at trying to be God, he raised his hands in the air and screamed out these words to the heavens: "Okay, You win. I'm done. Please, I don't wanna do this anymore. I don't wanna be God! I want You to decide what's right for me! I surrender to your will! "
That is what God really wants to hear from us too. Even though we may wish with all our hearts that He would instantly meet our prayer requests, answer our pleas, and change our circumstances, we have to believe that He always knows best. That His timing is perfect. That His ways, are not our ways, and just because we dont understand or agree, certainly doesnt mean that He is an ol' mighty smiter. In fact, I bet God doesnt even own a big magnifying glass.
Smiles.
1 comment:
Hi Tracie~
Thank you for this post today. It made me think.
I have to admit that I'm a bit of "control freak" at times. Yet, over the last few years, as I've grown in Christ, I can truly say that I've been a lot better about just trusting God and His will for my life. Cven through our miscarriage last fall I felt such hope and peace knowing that even though I didn't understand what He was doing, I could trust Him.
Still, there are times when I find myself praying...really telling God what to do. When really I have no idea what the right thing is...just what I think. What a great reminder that His ways are so above mine. That He's always looking out for my best interest...even when I don't understand.
Many blessings!
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