Where it struck me the strongest that this was the case came when one of the characters muttered to herself, what in the Empire am I going to do now? I thought what in the name of God am I going to do now?, even though that's not what it said and I had to correct myself. Even when it is obvious from the context that the phrase is used more as our what in the hell? or what the hell? my mind began to wander from the book and story and think on these phrases that Zahn used the Empire as a one word fits all substitute. Both what in the name of God and what the hell are used to intensify the question what? (or sometimes in the latter, why not?) Instead of just moaning what I am going to do?, it shows the fear, confusion, frustration, etc., the intensity of the situation, to add in the name of God or the hell to the question. For this reason, that it is used as an intensifier, it is seen by some that this is a curse or using the name of God in vain.
While I am not saying that we should run around shouting either of these, I realized as I paused my reading and thought about it some, that these are actually very good questions to ask when overwhelmed, confused, frightened, etc., especially the first one. So, of course I'll expand on why I think that about the latter first. What on earth and what in the hell are both phrases that basically boil down to what out of all the possibilities/options am I to do here? Or likewise there are no possibilities or options for this situation and I don't know what to do. And let's face it, there are times when there don't seem to be any options, when we can't figure out any way to handle the hell of the mess we're in with anything available to us, even if we had all the resources on the planet.
But those are the times when it is a good idea to pause and remember who we are and that our resources go beyond the material to the spiritual. It's not self reliance or our strength, power, wisdom or understanding that is going to solve the situation or save us. It is the power of God. It is His Spirit and wisdom that guide us and empower us to walk through life in love.. But even that is not to put our best foot forward or to show us off. It is for His glory, so that our lives serve as a demonstration of His love, power and way of life. We reflect and represent Him. We are to be the expression of who He is and His love. In that respect we are more than His children. We are His ambassadors and representatives. That idea that we are acting or need to act in the name of God is not a bad one to remember. It's a lot like those old ,movies when someone would shout stop in the name of the law! In the name of.... I can't always figure out what I should do, or what would be the best thing to do, but if I remember that whatever I do I am supposed to be representing Daddy, and that I am only authorized to do certain things in His power, but what I am authorized to do has the full weight of His authority behind it, I can have peace and clarity. I may not always know what the will of God is in every situation, but I know that it is to act and react in a way that is loving, both to God and others, and that it is to turn to Him rather than to myself of something else for the solution. And I can eliminate many of my natural instincts when I ask myself if someone sees me do this or that to handle this, will they see God's hand in this or will they see the hand of man, me?
What in the name of God am I going to do today? What can or should I do that is going to express the love of God, the power of God, and glory of God? When the question comes like that, it is a handy little reminder of our position and calling rather than a curse. If we remember that our lives are to be examples of His love, demonstrations of His power and reflections of His glory and that we represent Christ to people who may never see Him otherwise the options get a lot less confusing and the outcome less frightening.
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