Walter Brueggemann has a gift to bring hidden thoughts of the soul to light before God. Over the course of this fall, I wanted to share Walter Brueggemann with you every Wednesday from his book, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth. I believe his prayers, his words, are laden with wonder. The wonder of honesty. The wonder of trust. The wonder of love. The wonder of beauty.
You’re invited to join us for Wednesdays with Walter as we dive deeper in our relationships with God and with each other. [Tweet this]
Read through the poem below silently. Recite it aloud. May this become our prayer today and everyday as we learn to surrender our plans to God’s hands:
Not the God we would have chosen
We would as soon you were stable and reliable.
We would as soon you were predictable.
———and always the same toward us.
We would like to take the hammer of doctrine
———and take the nails of piety
———and nail your feet to the floor
———and have you stay in one place.
And then we find you moving,
———always surprising us
———always coming at us from new directions.
Always planting us
——————and uprooting us
——————and tearing all things down
——————and making all things new.
You are not the God we would have chosen
———had we done the choosing,
———but we are your people
———and you have chosen us in freedom.
We pray for the great gift of freedom
———that we may be free toward you
———as you are in your world.
Give us that gift of freedom
———that we may move in new places
———in obedience and in gratitude.
Thank you for Jesus
———who embodied your freedom for all of us. Amen.
Father, in the midst of our own plans and controls, may we surrender everything to your power and sovereignty, knowing full-well that you hold the entire world safely in your hands and care intimately for each of your kids. May we choose to trust even in the unknown. Amen.
When is a time you have found yourself trying to put God into a box or certain mold?
Pick up a copy of Walter Brueggemann’s Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, from Amazon, here.
Hello Margaret. I hope and pray that you are doing well and that you are finding God to be more present than you could ever have dreamed and that on days He may not seem so present you cling to the FACT that He is!
This poem. You know, the poet is right…This isn’t the God we would have chosen and frankly, he often isn’t the god we choose. We are so good at choosing lesser gods who look greater. And their promises and offerings are all a lie — including our own understanding of what is greater (that in itself can become a god to us — our wishes, our wants, our logic and hopes and dreams and demands…our expectations of God)…
It is good that the true God has so much more for us and hears and answers the prayer at the end…”Give us that gift of freedom ———that we may move in new places ———in obedience and in gratitude.”
I need to embrace this and receive His answer!
Blessings
I think I most often try to put God ina box when it comes to church things or all things “Christian”! I often find myself grumbling when God does not do what I want done:-) And as Debbie commented we often choose other gods. After doing some studying on idols- I realized that sometimes I think I am crying out to God in a situation only to realize I was crying out to one of my idols…the need for control or the need to always be right or bring my own version of peace to a situation. Thank God He does not leave us alone but gently convicts and opens our eyes to HIM.
Hi Deborah, I love this poem by Walter, too. A great reminder to keep our eyes focused on HIM as we choose HIM each day. Hug!
Thanks for your insights, Lucy. Praying that today we can choose HIM instead of those lesser gods.
Amen!
I have been trying to put God in a box in “my ministry.” I had been building, positioning and gathering experiences. Being faithful to the opportunities He had given, being obedient to what he had asked me to do. I lined everything up and just waited for him to bless it. But instead it was all taken away. Now I don’t see how any of the pieces fit together and that’s maddening for a visionary person. He has definitely done the unexpected, and I can’t figure him out. But I know he’s there and I know that someday all the pieces will make sense. On the good days, I’m trusting him to be my portion and my only hope.
Joy– I think your story is so familiar to a lot of us. Doing seemingly good things for the Kingdom, waiting for God to bless them, and everything is flipped upside down. Praying as you wait and trust in his timing and provision.