check mate

Chess takes skill, strategy, patience, and for me, luck. I will never come close to being the genius of Bobby Fischer who might not have needed luck. But for the average Joe, chess works with two independent minds that can be as unpredictable as predictable. Some people, I’m sure, can see the end of the game, just by the first few moves. I’m good to have the next move or two in mind much less executed according to how the opponent plays. Alas, the game remains a game without any definite winner until check mate is called.

During devotions, I took a firmer grasp on the fact that my life is not a chess game. I mean, I would look cute riding a horse as the knight or crowned as the queen (since I already have the princess thing covered), but I don’t move well in straight lines or L shaped patterns. In all seriousness, though, I don’t believe life is a random game of sacrificial players for the amusement of some higher power who only knows the next couple moves depending on Fate’s play. I see God as having the moves already choreographed, the result in mind, and victory with check mate declared. If you know the final score, the game is not so much a game.

Tonight I heard a child’s testimony about a mother’s illness cured even while the girl was away at training. Then, another girl’s story revealed that only boys had been sought on a particular trip to the village, but her talent on the drums had caught someone’s ear so she received a gift of a lifetime. On top of that, the choir had a spot to fill at the last minute which made the drummer girl’s participation possible. We might see these random moves as just that- random, unconnected, and certainly unplanned. Yet, I can’t help but believe that God’s providence is more powerful than randomness. I know it to be true in my own life. I know it to be true in lives of many of my friends, those who have that title because of God’s good game plan to put them in my life.

It’s a powerful admission to make that I don’t control my life. That I can make a move, but God is sovereign enough to know it’s coming. I wouldn’t have it any other way since such humility allows me to boast in Him when good things come along and trust in Him when bad things come along. In the end, I can’t lose- God has already claimed victory for my life.
CHECK MATE!