God of the Severed Monkey Paw

Ephesians. 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

In the classic macabre short story from 1902 by W.W. Jacobs, a couple comes into possession of a cursed totem.  It is a severed monkey paw whose previous owner warned the unsuspecting couple of it’s grisly history.  It will grant the owner three wishes, sure… but it is cursed and should in no way continue it’s involvement in the lives of humanity!  Instead of hearing the warning, however, the couple dreams nothing more than the power of the wishes.  They thus retrieve it from the fire that it’s previous owner meant for it’s destruction.

They start off slowly.  Their first wish a simple monetary amount of only 200 pounds intended to finish payment on their mortgage.  True enough, the occult relic bestows upon them their desire that very day!  Only, it does it in the form of a goodwill payment from their son’s employer, in that he was killed that day in a grisly accident.

They’ve just been monkey pawed!

If that wasn’t enough to see the sinister intentions of this cursed object, the wife, in her grief wishes for her hearts true longing…

…that her son would once more walk upon the land of the living!

You know what’s coming, right?

Immediately, there is a knock on the door.  The husband, who had earlier identified the corpse of his mangled son, knows that the creature on the other side of the door is no longer his healthy, living son.  Although it is technically now walking in the land of the living once again, it is now something else entirely.  The monkey paw has done it’s twisted work once again.

Yes, there is a third wish, but I won’t spoil that one for those who wish to read this dark classic.

Instead, I’ve got a question for you.

Do you ever see God like that?

No, of course you don’t.  That would be crazy, right?

But, seriously… do you?

I’ve got to admit, sometimes I kinda do. This weird belief that for every blessing in life there is this weird side effect of unexpected trial.

I pray to a God that I know loves me.  I pray to a God that I know has moved heaven and earth in order to have a relationship with me.  I pray to a God who has numbered the very hairs on my head and whose thoughts for me outnumber the sand on the seashore.

And I pray in faith…

but sometimes…

…sometimes with a little suspicion.

It’s like, sure I believe God wants to do what is best for me, and wants my life to be one of love and victory, but what if I do things wrong?

What if I pray wrong?

What if I don’t go to the right revival meetings?

What if I anger Him because I didn’t have the right faith amount at the crucial moment?

What if I don’t word my prayers just right, and allow Him to answer in a way that just is wrong, wrong, wrong.

“Hey Kevin, listen… You DID pray for patience after all, didn’t you?!?”

“Oh man, Monkey pawed again!”

So here I am again in the “Land Between”.  Am I here simply because I allowed a loop-hole in my prayer to the God of the severed monkey paw?  Are the angels who watch from heaven wrinkling their brows in a cosmic “Oh, snap!  Didn’t say the magic words just right, did he?”

“Yah.  It’s too bad he didn’t go to that conference last month where they would have taught him the secret knowledge that would release the exact blessings of God, huh?  This is going to be messy!”

Only, here’s the thing.  Our God is not the god of the severed monkey paw. Our God does not get passive-aggressive pleasure from His children missing out on His blessings for them. Our God is not secretly hoping His child misses out on their life-plan because they decided to go left instead of right.

That, my friends, is what grace is all about!

So can we mess things up?

Can we miss the mark?

Is there a growing process to faith, leadership, and commitment?

Of course.

There is a verse that Christians love.  It’s a verse that Paul gives as part of my favorite passage from the book of Ephesians.  It’s a verse that speaks of how God is immeasurably able to give so much more than we can think or imagine!   This is so exciting to hear for a person with an overactive imagination that thinks way too much for his own good.  I want to do this right away!

So I think, and I imagine and I wait….

and I wait…

and I wait…

“Hmmm…. God seems to be distracted.  Maybe… Hey MAYBE He just wants me to think and imagine HARDER.  Yah, I must have missed that part.  Let’s GO!!!

SO I think, and I imagine HARDER and BIGGER and I wait….

I think and I imagine even HARDER AND BIGGER and I wait…

and I wait…

and I wait…

Maybe I’m doing something wrong?  Did I not drop the right prayer words?  Maybe it was some acronym I did out of order?  Let’s look at that verse again…

Wait a minute… WAIT A MINUTE…  Here it is… Look here.  HERE it says “He is ABLE…”  Well, of COURSE He is able.  He’s GOD after all.  It says He is able, but it does not say He is WILLING!

Rats… Monkey pawed AGAIN!

That is until I actually talk to Him.

You know when I said in my last blog that my favorite point of Theology is the phrase “I am His and He is mine.” and how frustrated I get in life that I seem forget this?  Right here, is what I’m talking about.

Did I do something mysteriously and cosmically wrong again?  Only this. I forgot one simple fact…

I am His and He is mine.

“Kevin, do you think I would have sent my only Son into the world to save you only to then be unwilling to do more than you could ask or imagine????    Would the prodigal son’s father, after welcoming his son back into the household then turn him away because he forgot to wipe his feet on the mat?  Here’s the thing.  You are so stressed over the word “able” instead of “willing” that you are missing out on the fact that I’m focusing on another word…

…MORE!

“I’m not working in your life to fulfill every wish that you think would make you happy.  I’m working in your life to make it a thing of extraordinary beauty.  I’ve made YOU to be a thing of extraordinary beauty!  You want me to change your circumstances.  I want to change YOU!  So stop stressing.  Never have I left the righteous forsaken.  And here’s a little reminder….

YOU are the righteous!

I know this because I’M the one that made you that way!

So, relax.  Rest in me and sit back and watch.  This is going to be nothing short of fantastic!

No monkey paw required!”

Ok.  I remember again.  I am Yours, and You are mine!  But what if I forget again?

“Then I will remind you again!”

So for the rest of the day, I’m going to be looking at the wonderful beauty that I see here in the Land Between.  Sure, it can be a cold desolate place, but it can also be a land of phenomenal wonder and beauty!   You know, I don’t think I would ever have traveled out here voluntarily, but then I would have missed so much that is touching my very soul.

I won’t be here forever, and I think there will be so much I will miss it when it’s time to leave.   It’s almost like for every trial I have in life….

…there is this weird side effect of unexpected blessing!

Awesome

Take that, monkey paw!