Lost Keys, Boba Fett, and Answered Prayer

Have you ever had a “where are the keys?” moment? You’ve got your coat on, your book bag or briefcase or purse in one hand, your lunch in the other hand, and you’re just trying to get out the door to work or school but you can’t find the keys! You look and look, you check your coat pockets and the bathroom sink and the key hook where they’re supposed to be but never are. You start to get desperate and check the cupboard to see if you dropped the keys in when you took the cocoa pebbles out, then you check the fridge and see if they’re beside the milk. You even check the back door to see if you left them hanging in the lock all night.

Nothing. They’re nowhere. You stand there, bewildered and frustrated, running late, and wondering how your keys ended up across the galaxy in the Sarlacc pit and if Boba is going to have fun driving your F-150 instead of using his jet pack. Then, with your head low and the most frustrated voice you can muster, you yell out (for me, to my wife — for you, maybe your mom or your boyfriend or Saint Anthony), “Where are my keys!?” And then that special person comes walking in (unless you cried out to Saint Anthony — in that case, who knows what happens next?!) and stares at you like you can’t be serious.

Your keys were in your hand the whole time. Hanging off your pointer finger, right next to your lunch bag. Of course. Sorry Boba, you can stick to the jet pack.

We’ve all had these moments. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw it happened to me last week with a dry-erase marker at work that I put above my ear and forgot about. We get so busy tending to all that needs done that we overlook some of the most obvious details.

I’m going to give you an example that’s been on my mind a few days.

When you look in the Bible at all the people we look to as an example, what do you see? Look at Moses and Elijah and Paul and Timothy. Look at Esther and Rachel and the woman at the well. Look at John the Baptist and Peter and Hosea and Samson. Look at Rahab and Mary and Martha and Lazarus and Elisha. Look at every person from every story. There’s a common thread running through them all. Can you pick it up, or is it like your keys — too obvious to see?

Here it is: They’re all people.

It’s so obvious, but sometimes we miss it. We spend a lot of time praying for God to move, and sometimes we forget that he moves through us. He moves through people. There’s a song I heard recently by a secular punk rock band that I think speaks to this.

But we don’t need miracles
To tumble from the sky
To part the seas around us
Or turn water into wine

Because we are the miracles
We happen all the time
We’re not scared of what surrounds us
We’re not waiting for a sign

We are the miracles

— Miracle, by Rise Against

This is powerful to me because I believe it elucidates the perception of our prayers. It seems to non-Christians that we (Christians) pray and sit and wait. We expect God to move, but we don’t lift our own hands and feet. We want to see a miracle, but we don’t want to be a miracle. But I believe God’s answer to many of our prayers is, “I have already sent help. I have sent you.”

I think it’s good to pray for the needs of people around us. I think it’s good to pray for the needs of our community and the world at large. There are things that only God can do. I cannot save a person’s soul. I cannot take a hard heart and make it soft. But God has given us so much in His Word that lets us know there are many things we can do. We are meant to love the people around us, and many times that means meeting real, tangible needs. Sometimes we do need to wait for a miracle. Sometimes we just need to use the resources God has put at our disposal and get up and do something.

I’ve written and re-written multiple drafts of this blog. Some versions got really into some theology and philosophy, some versions were very long winded and took too many rabbit trails, and even this version isn’t my best and most articulate writing. But here’s what I want you to walk away with: God uses people to meet the needs of people. God wants to use you to meet the needs of people. God may even want to use you to meet your own needs. Sometimes we pray and wait and then get angry when nothing happens. But there’s something in the song I quoted that rings true. Even though the song is obviously slanted away from God, I believe we would do well at times to say, “We’re not scared of what surrounds us. We’re not waiting for a sign. We are the miracles.”

God has given us much. If you’re reading this, that means you have internet access and the hardware to connect. That’s more than a ridiculous percentage of the world. Start thinking to yourself, “How can I help?” Instead of just praying for God to move in a situation, begin to ask Him how He would use you to help in a situation. There may be something only He can do, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do.

God uses people to accomplish things in this world. That means you and me. Sometimes when you’re waiting for God to move, you’re really waiting on yourself to begin doing what God has said to do. What are you waiting for?