(divine) multitasking

It’s pretty amazing when you think about, but it happens all of the time. God multi-tasks. In fact he is the paradigm and epitome of multitasking.

If you hold to a Christian worldview, you accept that God is sovereign, that he governs his world. Thus, the events that take place each day are the outworking of his kingship, the result of his all powerful care.

Of course I realize that it is this very concept that gets God “in trouble,” for it is difficult to explain many things on the view that says a deity is in charge. However, I still think it makes best sense and provides the most hope to retain the view of God’s sovereignty, and I’m not interested in arguing the point at this juncture. What fascinates now is the simple yet profound reality that God orchestrates life’s events. This is strange stuff, indeed.

Of course we have to be careful about how we interpret divine providence. Just because God is in charge doesn’t mean that he’s provided a guidebook for how we are to read his providence. Sometimes, frankly, it’s difficult or even impossible to understand what God is “saying” in the outworking of his plan. In fact it is probably often the case that he isn’t actually saying anything through particular acts of providence. Though the details are a part of the whole, it’s often the whole that represents what God is “up to.” So, the particulars shouldn’t always be incessantly analyzed or interpreted.

That said, I think there is still a general principle that says we should learn from providence, and most of us have experienced times when we’re wondered if God has orchestrated events just for us. This doesn’t mean, of course, that we are the only ones God is concerned about, and we often don’t know what, exactly, he’s up to in the ordering of our daily affairs. Still, there are those times when we wonder what he’s up to. Just the other day, in fact, my schedule at school took a certain turn as I was asked to cover a duty for someone. Later, I wondered if this change of schedule was an intentional effort on God’s part to lead me down a certain path. Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not entirely sure. But if, for the sake of argument, he really did create events to guide me through my day, what does that say for the other people affected by this divine decision to change my schedule? Would God alter world events (or even local ones) for me?

Well, this got me to thinking about the idea of divine multitasking. Perhaps, God is able to multitask on such a profound and incomprehensible level that the events he affects are intended personally for me and yet also simultaneously (and for reasons beyond my knowledge) for others as well. Maybe he manipulates events for me, and for you, and for others. If so, this is the ultimate example of daily multitasking. Thankfully, the divine multitasker, though clearly mysterious, is also good and loving.