Disconnectors

The 1:00 p.m. ET online poker tournament was going well for us.  We won several big pots, survived a couple of all-in moments, reached the semifinal table in 13th place, noticed make-or-break blinds were approaching for us....

And then it happened.  Our Internet connection went dead.  We were still online -- simply not connected to the server at National League of Poker, to keep playing the game.  We were frozen.  Helpless.  And we knew we barely had enough chips to play the upcoming big and small blinds.

In short, we were frustrated.  And it wasn't the first time we've faced this problem with NLOP.  It seldom seems to happen with Poker Stars -- but with our main site for online tournament play, hiccups and outright outages are a common occurrence.  Sometimes it's due to automatic McAfee updates taking over our computer.  Sometimes it's due to calling up the wrong website in the background (we've concluded NLOP and Facebook don't mix well).  But Thursday, there was no good reason at all -- a sunny day where we should have had no interruptions.

In this frustration, we did some meditating.  Plenty of people probably feel disconnected from God at times.  The reasons could range from the death of a loved one to unemployment to unethical ministers.  Yet through it all, the Bible tells us....

Come near to God and he will come near to you. - James 4:8

The leader of a church denomination we once attended liked to say: "If God seems far away, who moved?"  While a few exceptions come to mind from the "exodus story," we don't think in most cases it's God....

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal. - Isaiah 26:4
....Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. - Ephesians 2:20b

God's ways can seem confusing at times.  In fact, some people intentionally try to bring out the confusing parts to draw believers away from their faith.  But in moments like that, we have to trust God "the Rock" to make it all clear -- on His timetable, when the time is right.  After all, what other hope beyond this life do we really have?  And in the meantime....

Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:8b

This is how we draw near to a holy God - by repenting of our sins, and accepting Jesus's sacrifice to pay the penalty of those sins.

P.S.  When we finally regained a connection with NLOP, we were stunned to discover we were at the final table!  Somehow we must have won a pot in one of the blinds (perhaps a "walk" in the big blind) to stay alive.  But the long disconnection triggered a "forfeit" by NLOP.  Through no fault of our own, we were eliminated.

We wound up eighth out of 611 players, three spots away from "top five" prize money.  A close connection with God can lead to an ultimately greater prize - the crown of eternal life.