Is God a Vending Machine?

     Recently seven members of my family have suffered from COVID, a daughter is scheduled for surgery, my toddler grandson broke his wrist, another grandson is starting vision therapy, and I’m being treated for cancer. In times like this, I wish God were a vending machine and I could insert a coin, punch a selection, and out would drop whatever I ask for.
     Some folks tell me that’s all I need to do. Just pray the right prayer, or pump up enough faith, or live a good enough life, or name it and claim it. Then the divine will be my genie-in-a-bottle and grant my wishes.
     This is not the deity I know. He’s completely good. And wise. And powerful. But He’s not my celestial butler. “God is not the supporting actor in my life movie,” says Dr. Michael Horton, a California professor. “I have been cast as a player in His unfolding story of redemption.”
​     That redemptive story is way bigger than my story, and the all-supreme is not my Mr. Fixit. His renewal of all things may or may not include what I hope for and on my schedule. What I want may be shortsighted. So I still pray, but I can’t presume how God will answer. It may be different than I ask. And difficult as it is to grasp, the trials that come my way may bring heaven’s mercy in disguise, as Laura Story sings here