The title of this post insinuates that we shouldn’t get a head, like a physical one. I like being cleaver but that’s not the intent here AND it has nothing to do about an excuse for not posting in a long time… there’s another reason for that, it’s called life! But I digress.
Do we get ahead of God? I think so.
When I was in college I remember taking a trip up north to visit my family with a car I knew wasn’t working well. It was my roommate’s car and he said I could use it but he warned me that he was having problems with it. I ignored his advice because I was so desperate to go and see my girlfriend. Let’s just say by the time I had made all the necessary repairs to get back home, I could have easily paid for round trip airfare and rented a car at the airport. Oh, and because of the constant breaking down along the roadside, I didn’t get to spend much time with my girlfriend.
There are those times when I know I shouldn’t do something yet do it because I just want to do it. I ignore any warning and counsel and plow on hoping the consequence will not be as bad as the cost. I think there is a term for this… calculated risk. When it comes to doing God’s work I think it best to keep personal desires out of the risk taking and leave that for God’s desires. That kind of risk taking on God’s behalf is called, “Faith!”
Sometimes I wonder if the followers of Jesus were men of faith. Jesus didn’t seem to think so. He would often call them men of “little” faith and even question if they had faith at all (Mark 4:40). Yet, we think of them as men of great faith. Well, I have a theory about that but hold that thought. Let’s look in the first chapter of Acts and see what kind of faith the apostles had.
"For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "'May another take his place of leadership.' Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. Acts 1:20-26
Sounds good right? But I’m not sure it was a great act of faith. In fact, I think they may have gotten ahead of God; here’s why. From where I sit they quote psalms from two completely different passages which are David’s intention to severely curse his enemies and they use this as reason to elect another to be an “official” disciple to keep their numbers even. However, from there through the rest of the book of Acts we hear nothing of the work of Matthias (I’m sure he did something…). Yet, in a couple of chapters Paul is going to show up and well, as some in Corinth called him, he was an “uber” apostle.
I have to admit for pastors it can be hard to wait on God and as we can attest here perhaps waiting on God is even difficult for the likes of Peter, John, Andrew and the rest (although we already knew Thomas had a problem with this). Now, whether the election of Matthias was indeed God’s will and Paul was just another of many apostles to come is a matter of faith and trust that scripture is true and these men were following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit… but back to my thought.
We know the disciples were men of little faith but acted as men of great faith: why? I believe it’s what happens in the next chapter and it comes in the power of the Holy Spirit! Those times when we get ahead of God, I believe are those times when we act before the power of the Holy Spirit is working in our lives. And just like the broken down car we can waist a lot of time and resources with our impatience. The amazing thing here is God will do what He wants to do anyway. If we get ahead of Him he doesn’t work to catch up to us. He goes at his pace. He wasn’t watching the disciples of Jesus cast lots for Judas’s position and think, “Oh no! They’re going to get it all wrong. I better send my spirit upon them now.” And when we get ahead of God and He knows we’re going to suffer for it, He says, “Okay.” Just like he watches us get into a car He knows is going to break down in Bakersfield, Modesto, San Mateo, Petaluma, Ukiah and Eureka.
