God's Excuses

Does God need an excuse to intervene in our circumstances at times?

Is He looking for people who will give Him an entry excuse to work miracles for His children?

If so, how can I learn to give God an excuse to do something unusual and transforming in my life?

Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. (John 6:11)

As I look at this story in Jesus' life I see something that can be found elsewhere in His stories and in the teachings of the Bible. It is the element of thanksgiving. I have noticed it before and have been convicted that it is one of the most vital ingredients in the relationship we have with God if we want to be really serious about knowing God. To enter into the presence of God and come to know Him in a saving way requires first of all passing through the gates of thanksgiving and praise as revealed to us in the Old Testament model of the sanctuary.

I have watched in this story as Jesus first of all makes sure His disciples begin to grasp the enormity of their situation. He wants them to realize that there is a serious problem and they are involved in it so that when He provides a solution that there will be no doubt that God is the one to be glorified. But Jesus is also fishing for a response of faith from someone in this story and He gets that response from the suggestion made by Andrew.

Faith, no matter how small, is the notion that God can provide for our needs even though all the evidence around us insists that there is no reason to believe such a notion. In this story I see no hint that the disciples had any reason to believe that Jesus might do what He ended up doing based on their own personal knowledge and experience during the time they had already spent with Him.

All throughout the gospel narratives I see Jesus fishing for faith everywhere He can look for it. Sadly, the places that He usually finds the most faith is in the hearts of people outside the chosen group that professed to know God the best. It was almost always someone who was not a Jew who was more likely to be commended by Jesus as having great faith and who were ones most likely that would act in bold confidence that Jesus could do anything for them that they needed.

But Jesus also rewarded little glimmers of faith. And this is in harmony with what is described by the prophets of old. Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. (Isaiah 42:1-3) In Jesus' quick response to Andrew's timid offer I see this principle being displayed. Jesus was hoping for just such an offer from someone, a suggestion based on the real question that Jesus had posed instead of the typical focus on the problems, amplifying them instead of enhancing the glory of God.

In essence, Jesus was looking for an excuse, a response that had at least a little of the element of faith so that He could establish a beachhead, a foundation upon which He could enter into the circumstances and build a whole new way of viewing reality for all involved. As soon as Andrew made His little suggestion Jesus immediately swung into action and instructed His disciples to prepare the people and position themselves in an posture of expectation for something good to happen. Apparently it seems that Jesus could not do the same thing with the comment that Philip had made for it was too immersed in the world's way of seeing things and was focused primarily on the counterfeit system of thinking that permeates most of our lives.

But there is another significant point in this story where Jesus provides yet another excuse for God to intervene on their behalf.

Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. (John 6:11)

I see in this verse far more than simply a foundation for our tradition of 'saying grace' before a meal. In fact, I have long been troubled at the way most people pray before a meal simply because it has become so disconnected from reality and almost totally is performed as a mindless routine, a ritual, as something to keep God happy or not upset with us. I will agree that there may be many who derive benefit from praying before a meal and I certainly am not suggesting that people stop this practice necessarily. But in my own life I actually decided many years ago to quit performing this as a routine for the sake of becoming more real. I felt that for me it was far more important to make this outward practice subordinate to a genuine heart experience and if I chose to pray before I eat that it needed to be a result of genuine gratitude coming from the heart rather than a way to prevent others from thinking less of me because I did not conform to their expectations of what people think a Christian is supposed to do.

What I am seeing in this story is a demonstration of what the real deal should look like. I don't think for a moment that Jesus was just 'saying grace' to fulfill some sort of religious obligation in His culture or even to create a new one. Jesus was always fully engaged in His intimate relationship with His Father in heaven and when He prayed He was simply talking with His Father like He might talk with anyone else in His life. So when Jesus offered up thanks and gratitude He was doing it fully from the heart and not in the least as an outward performance of compliance to some set of traditions.

But much more importantly, this demonstration of engaging in public gratitude for blessings of God is an illustration of the kind of power that can be unleashed into our desperate situations when we learn to likewise connect with God through acts of praise and gratitude. I have been sensing for years that one of the greatest hindrances that prevents us from experiencing far more of the miracles of God in our lives is our lack of true gratitude and praise. And the reason that we don't praise more is because we have long been mistaken about the causes upon which we usually think our praise should be based.

I think it is clear in the life of Jesus that gratitude is a powerful key in the hand of faith that can open immense resources into our lives that can dramatically transform us. But where we often get sidetracked is that we usually keep waiting to see something about which we think we should be grateful instead of engaging in gratitude before the evidence is so clear. We often assume that until we can clearly see blessings of God in our lives that we must keep begging God for help instead of thanking Him from the heart. This seems confusing even to talk about it partly because we are so entrenched in our old way of thinking that it seems almost weird to conceive that we can genuinely praise and thank God in the face of compelling contrary evidence.

One thing that has been very effective helping to liberate me in this area of confusion is something taught to me by a good friend years ago who also taught me how to study the Bible in an exciting new way. He brought to my attention that instead of basing my gratitude and thanksgiving on tangible blessings that I can already perceive, that real praise and life-changing gratitude should be based on who God is far more than what He seems to be doing in my life at the moment.

If I focus the motivation for my gratitude on who God is in character and dwell on each aspect of His character through my deliberate acts of devotion and praise, then I will never be in danger of having that foundation questioned or undermined, because God's character never changes in the slightest. Circumstances and outward 'evidence' may change all the time and cause many to question the goodness of God, but when I choose to believe in His goodness and compassion and kindness and care for me irregardless of what my surrounding circumstances may suggest, then I am poised to offer up genuine praise and gratitude at any time without danger of having it diluted by doubts based on threatening situations around me.

In Jesus' life on this earth, He made sure to keep so close to His Father at all times that He never doubted His Fathers goodness or concern for His children and so never became infected with any taint of unbelief. If we would follow His example of intimate fellowship with Father and train ourselves to focus on His character more than on His obvious blessings, we too could begin to experience God's intervention more often in our own lives as we would begin to access His mighty provisions for us through gratitude that would bring honor to His name.

This is not just theory but is something very relevant in my life right now. I am facing what might appear to be desperate circumstances right now from a human standpoint. But as I seek to view my situations through heaven's perspective instead of the way I have typically related to things, I find that the evidence of God's care for me can begin to show up in my life more and more often. I begin to recognize providential interventions in my life as I choose to trust His heart no matter what my circumstances seem to imply and I experience far more peace than I have in much of my past.

I believe that real faith is this learning to trust God in the face of circumstances that try to convince us that He cannot be fully trusted. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Someone recently pointed out that this definition would be viewed as absolutely absurd and discredited in a typical court of law. To be assured of something that is currently only a hope and to feel confident about something that has no tangible proof or evidence is absolutely contrary to the world's method of exercising justice and finding truth. Yet the Bible clearly states that this is the essence of faith and without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Jesus' demonstration of the role of gratitude in relationship to faith in this story is vitally important I believe. I see that not only am I to choose to believe that God can take care of all my needs and is with me at all times, but that belief is deepened and takes root when I choose to praise and thank God for who He is and what He is like when I don't yet have apparent evidence that strongly supports those beliefs.

As Jesus gave thanks to His Father in heaven and accepted the little that His friends had to offer to Him, He was in turn offering that little gift to His Father who in turn honored His faith by multiplying the food into a demonstration designed to bring honor to Father. In my own life I am seeing similar things happen at times. As I choose to make my mind stay away from dwelling on my impossibilities and instead focus on God's real character of love and concern for me, I am seeing unexpected blessings show up repeatedly in ways that make it clear they are coming from the One who is eager to bring honor to Father in my life as well.