Is God A Lifeguard?

In the midst of all this distancing and stay-at-home stuff, many of us are having to learn all kinds of new things about using modern technology. I’ve had computers since the eighties and my smartphone for a dozen years now, but what I know about how to use them could fill a thimble. I’ve known what I needed to know to do what I needed to do – at that time. Now, I’m learning all kinds of new things as a result of doing our Sunday service through a live cast on Facebook. I’m also having to learn about using my iPad to live cast a Wednesday evening class and discovering all sorts of things you can and can’t do. I got a text last night from a sister who has been helping us with all of this, and she wants me to sent her something that will allow our Facebook page to be large enough to see both my wife and me at the same time. I just texted her back and said, “Sounds great but I’m not sure what you are talking about!” Yes, my thimble is overflowing, but I need to learn this stuff because I’ve got a job to do!

I couldn’t help but think about how this speaks to our relationship with God sometimes. He is the God who provides, who cares about our every need, but is he only thought about and sought out when we need something? Is he only the God of our needs or is he the Father we love and walk with every day? It’s easy to see God as our eternal lifeguard. When we swim at a public pool, who notices or cares about the men and women sitting in the elevated thrones? We ignore them – until we need them. We fully expect them to jump into action to pull any floundering swimmer from the water and perform lifesaving resuscitation if needed. Same with God. Life throws us a crisis, like an illness, a job loss, a death in the family, or…a pandemic, and we scream for him to dive in and save us. That’s the beauty of Abba Father – he does! But, he doesn’t want to just be our personal EMT, as great as that job might be. God wants and rewards those who “diligently seek him.” He wants us to “draw close to him and he will draw close to you.” He is the loving Father longing for us to return, but he’s also the Father who wants to share in our life. We don’t need a lifeguard right now, but we do need a Father who cares, shares, and bears our every concern. Use this time to focus more on Him up close and personal. Call him down from that lofty lifeguard chair and get to know him better. Could it be that he’s been preparing you for “such a time as this”?