Saint Murphy

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. You know this adage as Murphy's Law. In the months (and months) of waiting for our visa (and house sale, and all the other things that need to happen before we can move to Belgium) it has seemed like lots of things have gone wrong. My previous post "8 months to give thanks" was an effort to change my heart from one that focuses on the Murphy's Law list in my life to one that is full of thanksgiving to God. But today life added something to my Murphy's Law list. My wife is sick, and I had to back out of teaching at a student training event tonight, and I'm very disappointed. I'm not asking for your sympathy, and she's wouldn't either. But sometimes we feel like we've been assigned an angel named Murphy as our guardian.

It's tempting to make a big theological deal about things that go wrong. While, it's a good idea to ask what God is up to when you are sick, when you can't pay a bill, or when your vehicle breaks down (even the really nice new van you borrowed from your brother-in-law so that you wouldn't have to deal with breakdowns on your trip to northern Minnesota). But it is just as good an idea to ask what God is up to when your child is born with no complications, when you lose 5 pounds, or when your car runs fine (even though you haven't changed the oil in about 5000 miles). But instead of offering a theological foundation for suffering (and all the little things that get on our Murphy's Law lists), or sharing my list with you, I'm going to introduce you to a character who knew how to respond when Murphy's Law seemed to run rampant.

The prophet Habakkuk looked at the world around him and asked "How long, O LORD...?" God dialogues with him, reassuring the prophet that he is indeed involved in the affairs of the world. But it is Habakkuk's final response in chapter 3 that really instructs and inspires.

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Life lesson: If I rejoice when there are no grapes on the vine (or money in my account) I will be strong in the LORD, and instead of blaming Murphy for everything going wrong, I'll thank him because I have had another occasion for joy. And I think people just might notice that.