Motivation Article: The Luck of the Irish

May 15, 2023 by  
Filed under Faith, Faith Articles

By Debra Elmore 
It came to my attention recently while I was visiting a Mosaic church that I was pretty uneducated in the aspects and origins of many holidays, St. Patrick’s Day included. The pastor began to elaborate on the historical figure known as Saint Patrick and as I listened, I made a mental note to look into the people and events behind this annual celebration for the future. 

After making his escape from slavery in Ireland and returning to his home in England, Saint Patrick was instructed by God through visions and dreams to return to Ireland to strengthen the Christian faith and make converts of the remaining pagans. This struck me as being particularly ironic because he also created the sign of the Celtic cross, which incorporated the sun (a symbol the locals were familiar with worshipping) as the circle behind the cross. The irony lies in that to honor the man, is to render luck impotent, and vice versa.    

Luck, favor, chance, happenstance…There is no denying that some people seem to have Fortune smile upon them, while others never behold the face attributed to her. Even as believers, we are not exempt from this phenomenon even in our own circles. Some pray and see them answered before they are done speaking. Others cry out their appeals seemingly to no avail. If luck is a non-entity, as believers are persuaded to hold as truth then, what accounts for the variation among God’s own?

Several years ago, a teacher I was listening to shed some light on the matter. She had been praying, asking God why some seemed to have his ear, while others went years with their petitions and prayers seeming to fall short of being heard. His answer both surprised me and yet made perfect sense. He said, "Because so many leave “me” in the blessing". I began to ponder this in my own life and in the perfunctory prayers I have heard from other people. When our passion is for what God gives us and what He can do on our behalf instead of merely for Him and the pleasure of being in His presence, we create a dilemma in the Spirit. For example, if I knew that by endowing my spouse with a million dollars, I would enable him to pack his bags and move in with another woman for a life of leisure and carnal pleasure, how hesitant would I be to grant that request?  I must choose between my desire to bless unconditionally and the pain of what that blessing would entail for me. At times, as in the case of the prodigal son, funding that trip away from the Father causes the son to see home in a whole new light. For others, to leave the Father would be a one way trip and home would be a distant memory, fading in the background of the false glory of the high life.  God longs to know each of us on a personal level.  He deals with each heart so individually that only He knows the road each of us requires, the events and circumstances that bring us to our knees and restore us to His heart. What may look like heartache and sorrow to people looking on from the outside may be the vehicle of mercy that transports us home to Abba, Father.

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