Going to the Grave with the Song Still in You – Part II

“Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
--- Henry David Thoreau

Last time I proposed a thought with the help of paraphrasing Thoreau:
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The reason so many Christians live lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in us (and many do), is because we fail to come to terms with the purpose of God for our lives and struggle with the degree to which we believe God engages the world today.

At that time I also talked about the purpose of God. This time I want to touch on the degree to which God engages the world today. Now I’m not a theologian. I’m simply a recovering lawyer who knows a wee bit about evidence. I’ve actually sent a good number of criminals to prison by understanding evidence when I see it. When I see enough evidence, I’m going to act.

Used to be I worshiped a small “g” god, so to speak. In other words, I really didn’t think God had much to do with things. Sure I had seen answers to prayer, but I did not have a transcending view of highly engaged God, heavily involved in the affairs of His children.

At least until I met George Muller.

Muller has been dead over a hundred years but his highly documented testimony of God’s incredible engagement in his life totally convicted me that my view of God needed a radical changing. No space to go into great detail here, but through prayer alone without asking anyone for a dime, Muller fed, clothed and housed thousands of orphans in 19th century England. He build 5 orphanages and supported missions around the world. By today’s value, God poured out over 200 million dollars over the some sixty-five years of Muller’s ministry. Now that is a highly engaged God.

And then, of course, there’s William Wilberforce and the Clapham Circle and how not only did they end slavery in the British Empire but dramatically shifted the very culture of Great Britain. Like Muller, they had a high view of God. Like Muller, they personally experienced a highly engaged God who was still in the business of doing the impossible.

I believe God is all about us making our own choices. To me, understanding the weight of the evidence from the lives of these men and women totally changed my God paradigm. They pursued God’s purposes and He poured out His favor in unmistakable fashion. They did not go to the grave with the song still in them.

I figured if God would do it for them, He’d do it for me.

Some of us need to pick up the prayer phone and dial 1-800- Who’s your Daddy. My heavenly Daddy is the Author and Creator of the universe and in my book, my Daddy can do anything – and does. Does yours?

You need not go the grave with the song still in you.

“I the Lord do not change.” Malachi 3:6
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Wes Lane

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