Sometimes God speaks to me in movie lines.

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One of our favorite family movies is The Pacifier, starring Vin Diesel. (OK, fine  — one of my favorites that the rest of the family tolerates.) In the movie, Navy SEAL Shane Wolf — while recovering from a failed rescue attempt — is assigned to protect the five Plummer children from their recently deceased father’s enemies.

As the story progresses, Shane discovers that teenage Seth Plummer has secretly joined a local amateur theater production of The Sound of Music. When the diva director quits out of frustration with the actors’ performance, Shane steps forward.

Shane: Company! Center Stage!

One of the players: Who is this guy?

Shane: Now, do you or do you not have what it takes to perform this musical?

Player: We don’t have a director.

Shane: I’ve directed rescue missions all around the world. I’ve directed numerous snatch-and-grabs from countries whose names you are not allowed to know. I’ve choreographed multi-pronged amphibious landings and stealth air attacks! Do you think I have the military proficiency to direct this production?

Seth: Yes.

Shane: Yes what?

All: Yes, sir!

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So here’s the thing.

For the past several months (at least), Shane’s question has been constantly running through my brain. 

“Do you believe I have the proficiency to direct this production?”

Except… it’s not Shane saying it. It’s God.

“Do you believe I have the proficiency to direct this production?”

Mostly when I’m worrying. Which is to say, more often than I care to admit.

“Do you believe I have the proficiency to direct this production?”

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That really is the question, isn’t it?

Do I believe that God — who spoke light (and everything else) into being — has the proficiency to bring clarity to the problems I can’t see my way through?

Do I believe that God — who made a way through the Jordan, at flood stage — has the proficiency to overcome the barriers I keep banging my head against?

Do I believe that God — who raised Hebrew prisoners, exiles, and women into positions of tremendous political influence — has the proficiency to turn around world events I struggle to have hope for?

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It sounds like a no-brainer, when I put it like that. But in actual daily practice, well, it’s not so easy, is it? To really believe that God has the proficiency to direct whatever is going on in my life and the world today.

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In a recent Trinity Forum conversation, Felicia Wu Song mentions the idea (from James K. Smith’s book, You Are What You Love) of “counter liturgies” — intentional practices that push back against the misinformations of the heart. And I thought, “That’s what I need! A way to push against the forces that tempt me to doubt God’s proficiency to direct the concerns of my life.”

I’ve started looking for one thing every day that gives evidence of God’s proficiency, whether in:

• biblical narrative (like the stories referred to earlier)
• the stories of others (have you seen The Hiding Place film yet?!)
• my own history (how a girl from rural Kentucky ended up with a guy who grew up in the Philippines, for starters)
• or in the world right around me today (spiderwebs!)

With practice, I hope the day will come when my immediate, reflexive response to God’s query “Do you believe I have the proficiency?” is “Yes, Sir!”

Because, ya know? He really does!

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