Phillip, the Ethiopian, and Quantum Physics

We can make our plans,
    but the Lord determines our steps.
Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

I had a very "Phillip and the Ethiopian" experience yesterday. I won't go into it because I fear that describing it would paint the other people involved as pawns in a game of "How God is Growing Dean" (I think this is something like what happens in quantum physics -- to oversimplify, when observed, particles behave differently than when they're not being observed). That's not at all how it was, but I don't want to risk giving it that flavor.

After a morning spent praying, "Lord, please use me to be Your hands and feet," "Give me words to speak if or when necessary," "Touch Your world through me," and similar prayers, I had gone somewhere to do one particular thing, feeling unusually compelled to do it but not sure exactly why. When it was all over, it dawned on me that it hadn't just been that thing that God had for me to do. It was a "Weird, so You actually had me here to do that!" moment.

After the experience, I didn't receive any special reward or accolades, but I came out of it thinking, "Oh, wow. The Creator just used me for something I couldn't possibly have planned." As I mentioned not too long ago, the reward for service for the King is simply the fact that we have the privilege of doing service for the King! It is at once both a humbling and an uplifting reward.

I wonder how often God uses us and we fail to see it or acknowledge it. Sometimes I don't believe the result of "the mission of the day" is meant for us to know, but other times I believe we simply don't open our eyes to see it. Worse, we may, by choice, not be allowing God to put us into situations where He would prefer to use us.

I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself,
Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 (NASB)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Posted in: God's Will, Life