Does God Care About Scrabble?

We know we can ask for God’s help in any situation. If a loved one has fallen ill, if our job is in jeopardy, or if we’re faced with a dangerous situation, most of us trust that sending up a prayer will bring down a multitude of blessings. But what about when the situation is a lot less dramatic? Does God have our back when the results seem to be of little consequence?

Once, I was playing the board game Scrabble with some family members. We were having a great time and I was enjoying a pretty good lead. That’s until my closest rival scored big by using all her tiles and getting a few bonus points, as well. With only a few turns left in the game and the score close to tied, I said a little prayer out loud, “Lord help me to win this game!” Immediately, I heard someone say, “God doesn’t care about Scrabble!” Without a beat, I responded, “If it’s important to me, it’s important to Him!”

My faith includes the trust that I can ask God for His help in anything in my life—even the minutia. 1 John 5:14-15 confirms this faith: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

How do we know that what we ask is within His will? I think we can be pretty sure that as long as it’s not against his commands, we are not asking amiss. For example, I don’t think God would honor a request to kill someone who we don’t get along with. But I believe He would hear a prayer to improve the relationship with that person—and bless us accordingly.

So how does a prayer for a Scrabble game fit within God’s will? Maybe it was a demonstration of faith that helped someone else in their spiritual walk. Maybe it was a self-affirmation of my own trust in Him. Maybe it was an event in my life that occurred solely for the purposes of this blog! In the end I won the game—but more importantly, it was a teaching moment. Our cares are God’s cares, and He won’t let us down. Because even if I had lost, I would have still been able to praise Him for an enjoyable time with my family.

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

Keeping it Real?

A DJ of a popular radio station played a joke on a woman. He called with an invented story of a crisis situation. Her temper flared, and the woman ranted and raved, sprinkling in a few choice expletives. After allowing her to go on for a while, the DJ announced that the call was only a prank and the situation was completely made up. Realizing the call was being played live on-air for the listening audience, the woman gasped, “Oh, no! What will the people at church think?!”

We always want to put our best foot forward—especially in social situations such as at church or in the workplace. Yet, when that leads to a giant step away from our personality in other situations, we come across as being “phony.” But how do we actually become the personality we want to project to others?

Our sinful nature makes it very difficult to live by spiritual laws. We have a daily struggle with balancing our desires that are unholy with the ways in which God wants us to go. Even Paul acknowledged this dilemma in Romans 7:19, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” But Paul went on to say that this does not allow a convenient excuse to keep sinning—we should strive to live according to the Holy Spirit.

If we were to keep it really real, we would realize that the very reason we were created is to worship God. That worship should permeate every essence of our being. It should be part of our actions, our speech, and our attitude. This means that our actions should not be dictated by what people might think (hypocritical), but fueled by what is pleasing to God (aspirational).

Let’s keep it real and give God the glory in all that we do everyday.

The Lord Will Provide

I’ve heard it said that our culture is fueled by worry. We worry about paying our bills, we worry about what people will think of us—we even worry about what we’re going to do next. Our underlying worry causes us to make certain decisions and suffer certain consequences. Think about it…what are you worried about right now?

All of this worry leads to a ton of stress. It has been scientifically proven that stress worsens our overall mental and physical health. In fact, people with chronic diseases tend to have much poorer outcomes when they are stressed out about their condition.

In all of this worrying we do, where does our faith in God kick in? If we trust Him as the Word directs us to, we really wouldn’t have too much to worry about at all. In fact, the Word tells us that all of this worrying is for nothing. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus is pretty straightforward about the futility of worrying—and lets us know that it does not please God in the least.

We should strive to have the faith of Abraham, who at the thought of having to sacrifice his only son—the one he had waited almost a lifetime to conceive—found the strength to say, “The Lord will provide.” (Genesis 22:1-19) All it takes is a belief that God is a good Father who only wants the best for us. If we know that God has our back and will work out any situation that concerns us, we are on the right path to living worry-free.

Don’t be stressed—give it to God and He’ll do the rest!

Hard Head = Soft Butt

I have to admit, I was a pretty stubborn kid. So I used to hear the following phrase a lot: “A hard head makes a soft butt.” However, I always thought the phrase should have been, “A hard head makes a sore butt.” That’s because I realized that hardheadedness usually leads to painful results. So even as an adult, I have to ask myself, “Why do we continue to be so stubborn?

The truth is, people want to do what they want to do. And when we are emotionally or selfishly driven, we seek to do what is right in our own minds at the time. This type of stubbornness, or hardheadedness, is unbecoming to a Christian. Proverbs 3:5 tells us plainly, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” God wants us to do what He wants us to do.

How do we know what God wants us to do? When we stay prayerful and continually read the Scriptures, we strengthen our connection with Him. That makes it easier for us to hear His voice and receive His guidance. I’ve recently heard it said that we don’t listen for an audible voice, but as Christians, we know the calling of the Lord when we hear it. As Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

And the truth is…life is just so much easier when we follow the leading of the Lord. He is the author and finisher of our faith, so why wouldn’t we seek His guidance in our daily lives? He is the Creator—he has all the instructions! With that in mind, we should consider the Bible our instruction manual.

Let’s put aside our hardheadedness and learn to follow the direction of the Lord. Even when we don’t feel like it. Even when it’s uncomfortable. We know that in the end, stubbornness leads to destruction, while those who follow the Lord will enjoy great reward.