My friend Bob is a successful New York executive who has made it big in Australia. Bob is an atheist. He surprised me, therefore, with his criticism of atheism by saying, "Fred, the worst thing about being an atheist is that when everything goes much better than I deserve I have no one to thank. I wish I believed in God so I could thank him for my good fortune. "
I felt Bob's need, but is God just for the extreme times of blessings?
On the other hand, the secular press reported that the counselors sent into the schools following the terrible Colorado school tragedy were sitting idle while the students were crowding the churches, praying and sharing their grief with each other.
I know their feelings and share them, but again we ask, "Is God just for the tragedies in our lives?"
Could Satan harm us more than getting us to relegate God to the extreme times of our life? The extremes are temporary and pass away. Today's young people are enamored with the "extreme sports" syndrome. It is thrilling and uses a lot of adrenaline. But, the vast majority of our times are spent in the ordinary, the unspectacular "humdrum" routine of living our day-to-day existence "in quiet desperation." as Thoreau put it. In these times we feel neither extreme blessings nor tragedy. Yet God assures us he is "forever faithful." His presence is constant whether we are on the mountain top, in the valley, or walking the long road across the plains of life.
The Psalmist prayed that he not be exposed too much to the extremes: "Let me not be blessed with such wealth that I forget you nor suffer such poverty that I deny you."
God is for all times. Not only in the extremes of life but everyday, all day. Therefore our relationship to him is continuous. He is more than a God of the extremes.
Someone says, "I want to believe but I can't. " They are not wanting to believe; they are wishing to believe. Our want is controlled by our will, "I will to do thy will" is not a wish but a definite decision. When we genuinely believe, trust Him and move in faith, God adds His strength to our decision. As Oswald Chambers says, "God doesn't give us strength to overcome, He gives us strength as we overcome. " Our wish to believe is generally that we desire the benefits of belief but not the obligations… the obligations of obedience.
An Oxford University scientist told me of his experience when as a college student he came to his decision to trust Christ. As soon as he became a believer he tried to get his roommate to accept Christ by faith, he continually reasoned with him on every possible occasion. Then one day his roommate said, with finality, "I could believe if I really wanted to, but I don't want to. " The roommate understood the place of will in wanting rather than wishing. I must ask myself "do I want to believe or do I only wish to believe?" God's added strength augments and supports our want, not our wish.
