God vs. AI
“So…I asked AI.”
Someone I deeply admire was trying to solve a work-related problem. He had exhausted all of his clever ideas, asked the specialists, consulted with his boss, all to no avail. Understandably, he was frustrated.
Interestingly, the answer AI provided was not the solution. But what struck me about this entire exchange was how readily we all thought of asking AI for a solution.
And not God.
How many times in my life have I come to the end of myself, my resources, my abilities - and turned to prayer? I have often waited much too long to finally say, “I am going to ask God to help me solve this problem.” He often has, and many times I move forward by faith, and believe that he will guide me. This is the essence of our walk with Jesus. We cannot see him and have a face to face conversation with him like we do with a friend, so we are dependent upon his leading through the Holy Spirit. Some call that foolish, but I’ve been living like that for decades and it is a thrilling adventure. I’ve certainly been wrong, missed what God’s answer was (or maybe he didn’t give one), and made mistakes, but at least I tried to connect with the One who created me, loves me, and is pleased with my faith.
Hebrews 11:6 “For without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
As I pondered this the other day, I wondered if future generations of Christians might say something along these lines, “I’ve heard stories about my grandparents actually asking God for an answer, and he gave it to them. Is that even possible? What if it doesn’t work out? What if they heard wrong?” This fear of failure is already rampant among young people, and the ease of finding information could be creating an environment where believers in Jesus won’t feel a need for prayer and moving forward in faith. I believe this might become one of the big battles future generations of Christ-followers will have to fight. “Contending for the faith” is literally what it will be. And the ability to walk by faith and not fear, leaning on God himself for answers to problems, will mark the Christian.