Deus Ex Machina is a term used by writers to describe when an unexpected event happens that saves the day. If our hero is saved from a fire that the bad guy set by a sudden rainstorm that is Deus Ex Machina and bad writing. My early science fiction stories are full of it. The problem is that the hero did not do anything within his own power to overcome the conflict which lets down the reader. The problem is not that these things don’t happen every day. They do. Deus Ex Machina translates as god out of the machine. While God does not emerge from the wings of the stage at the opportune moment and say boo, he does have a plan.
I’m going to step out and postulate spiritually now. Each of us were created for a reason. That goes against decades or centuries of scientific assumption that takes God out of everything. But if you would just swallow your pride and stop thinking that you are an autonomous product of biology you will have to accept the alternative. The truth is that God has a plan and you are not so unique that you were left out of it. And when you accept that you are part of this plan there is a considerable amount of struggling that you can stop. Because unlike the movies, there is nothing you can do in your power to overcome this main conflict.
It is idolatrous to create your own god with the humanistic qualities that you think a supreme creator ought to have. And it’s idolatrous to think that God does not care about you. Accept this: God does care about you. God does have a plan for you and get this, God can make this plan happen regardless of where you are in your life or what you may have done to distance yourself.
There shouldn’t be miraculous coincidences in fiction. But this writing is a work of fact today. And in the real world, as I stated, God steps in and saves people every day. It’s not necessarily by a work of nature either. It’s usually by the work of His people being obedient to Him. One day a thousand pairs of shoes are given away. Another day a fervent prayer is spoken while holding the hands of someone who is hurting. One day it’s just a message in a bottle.
This message came to me last night as I was working. The person I thought of does not read this blog as far as I know. But someone they know does. The message is out there. It’s just a little act of faith that I will drop it and hope it gets to where it needs to be. But if it’s part of the plan I ought not to worry. There is a plan.
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