Pastor Wilson has been quoting a lot of Charles Spurgeon’s criticism of pastors lately. Now this in which Spurgeon lambastes the tendency to address one’s congregation in prayer rather than God. He rightly condemns strutting and showing off but I wonder. One of the purposes of prayers in worship is to bless and edify the congregation. I guess that should be a side effect though and not the thing aimed at.
One of the temptations facing anyone holding a high view of God’s sovereignty is to doubt His goodness. Case in point: me. I pulled some weeds Friday evening and evidently there was poison ivy among them. Today (Monday) my mouth and surrounding face are swollen, blistered and oozing. Yuck! I must have been sweating and wiped my face with a contaminated hand. My hands oddly enough are not affected but some other parts are. Yuckety yucking yuck yuckers!
So, this is all part of God’s eternal plan? Yup. Is it good? Depends what you mean by good. Is God good? Yup–much more profoundly good than we can grasp. Good gets its identity from Him, not the other way around. Am I ready for more serious trials? Please, Lord, no! Thank You though for the way things are and what You’re doing, even in this.
Something else happened today that made me notice how circumstances that to us look mundane or annoying can be connected to glory. I worked at home today because of the hideousness of my face. I am that vain. Mrs. Deacon Rob was out in the afternoon running errands including picking up steroids for me. She called from the road asking me to meet her at our mechanic’s shop so she could give me drugs and groceries and then go on to an appointment she was late for. While we were at the shop our mechanic’s landlord came over and told us that Bob, our mechanic, was laid up at home after an ordeal and that we might want to mention him in our prayers.
Bob had gone to the emergency room last week suffering from back pain. They loaded him up with medication and sent him home without taking any pictures. That night he went back by ambulance and learned that the buldging disk causing his pain was the least of his problems. He found out he has dangerously high blood pressure, type II diabetes and a hernia. It’s like going in for an oil change and finding out you need new breaks, a muffler and a radiator.
So Bob’s pain lead indirectly to his finding out vital things about his health, things that might save his life. And my uglification lead indirectly to our being asked to pray for him, thus maybe making us useful to our neighbor. God most certainly is good. With the temptation he provides a way of escape, in this case evidence that all these circumstances are connected and that He knows what He’s doing.
Pastor Wilson again, this time saying that we should write public prayers ahead of time.
Is Christianity Good for the World? Indignant prophet of no-God Christopher Hitchens goes six rounds with bomb throwing Idaho pastor Doug Wilson. Hilarity ensues. Can naturalism account for itself? Can it even understand the question? Tune in and see.
Doug Wilson has a Lewis-like gift for analogies but he’s funnier: The Kingdom of God is a Fine Automobile.