Was having a conversation with someone yesterday about our views of God. It got interesting. This person has a picture of God as being Big Picture God. He sets the ball in motion then sits back and just kind of waits to see what happens, what choices you will make, how things turn out. Not really involved in the tiny day-to-day details of our lives.
I guess I can see *why* someone would have that mindset but to me it is so much more. To me, God wants to be intimately involved in the mundane details of my day. He tells me in his word he knows the hairs on my head, my name is written on his hands and he keeps my tears in a bottle. That isn't Big Picture God. That is right there with me constantly God. Wanting to be exactly who I turn to every single day God. Involved God. Not just sitting back in some cosmic cloud waiting to see how things go.
And it made me a little sad that this person I love dearly has only a Big Picture God relationship. For me, you are missing out on so much if you only have the Big Picture view of God.
But it did get me thinking...I tend to pray for things a lot. I pray for my husband. My kids. People I know going through things. I pray for the weather sometimes if we have plans or I know we need a sunny day or a rainy one. I pray for parking spaces when I have my kids with me and it is pouring down rain and I want to get in and out as quickly as possible. I pray for my church. I pray for friends that don't have a relationship with Christ. I pray for God to reveal himself to them in a way they can't deny him. I pray for Celebrate Recovery...that I will be the leader God needs me to be and not the leader I think I should be. I pray for wisdom in making decisions for myself or my kids. I pray for my kids...a lot. Bless them...they need it.
The person I was talking to yesterday said they only pray for major things because God has a lot going on and praying for small things is kind of silly and a little bit selfish. Again...Big Picture God vs. Intimate God.
But, boy oh boy has this got my brain in overdrive today. I literally keep coming back to example after example of Big Picture God viewpoint then Intimate God viewpoint. It also has me thinking about Intellectual Relationship with God and Emotional Relationship with God. Do I think about my spirituality with my brain or with my heart?
I think I've come to the conclusion that neither viewpoint is necessarily wrong but with one you might be missing out on such a deep relationship.
No big conclusion...just lots of questions and interesting things going on in my brain.
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