While Kingdom Hearts is a fairly linear gaming experience, it doesn’t mean that every item that our missions require or each character we are tasked with helping are easily discovered… many are only revealed when we are forced off of our preferred path and into an area that we never intended to explore. While these moments may seem like an undesired time-wasting detour at first, they are often the places where I discovered something that I didn’t even know I should be searching for. Whether it was a valuable item that changed the way I played the game or a path to helping someone I didn’t know was there, these unwanted diversions helped to push Sora to places he wouldn’t have reached any other way.

We will all face unwanted detours in life, but these inconvenient situations are often used by the Lord to advance His kingdom in ways that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Many times, these are the paths that He uses to guide us to our destiny the same way Joseph found in his journey from prison to prince, and other times these diversions are actually a divine intersection to reach one singular soul for Christ like Paul and the repentant jailer. If we allow Him to open our eyes to the possibilities beyond our present discomfort, we will find that He truly does work out all things for good… according to His purposes, not ours.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

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For all of Master Chief’s advantages over his video game peers, he possesses a “limitation” that most of them don’t share. While gaming protagonists like Solid Snake carry an entire armory with them into their respective battles, the Chief is only able to carry two weapons at a time… apparently his armor doesn’t share the same pocket design as Snake’s sneaking gear. But what may seem like a disadvantage is really just a difference between the games they are in and the unique nature of their adventures… the Chief wouldn’t have any use for a cardboard box in the places his story takes him. An unlimited arsenal of equipment choices sounds nice, but the Master Chief’s “limited” load-out has always been more than enough for him to win the day.

The uniqueness of each of our callings for the Lord means that every one of us will be equipped differently for our respective missions… some of us have received talents in speaking, writing, or sharing songs while others have been gifted with earthly resources or serve Him in positions of high visibility to grow the kingdom. Instead of wishing we were chosen for different missions in life or that we possessed the “pockets” of gifts that others received, let’s open our eyes to the callings we were actually given. He didn’t design us with limitations… He crafted each of us for a purpose.

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:9-11

Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. 2 Timothy 1:9

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Playing through the original Halo trilogy back when the games first launched vs. replaying them now is a VASTLY different experience. In my first playthrough, this seemingly basic “space marine saves the world” story quickly gave way to some surprising (and occasionally unwelcome) twists and turns. From exposing the hidden purpose of the iconic Halo rings, to the betrayal of 343 Guilty Spark, to former enemy the Arbiter evolving from a lethal adversary to a valuable and critical ally, each chapter wouldn’t have made much sense if played without the added context of the others. But after the trilogy was complete, even the cliffhangers I didn’t appreciate the first time I played them finally made sense… they were serving a larger story.

The story that the Lord is telling through our lives will often feel like chaotically disparate chapters when viewed from our limited perspective, and they aren’t always easy to appreciate while we are living through them. But each event is a very intentional page He has written in our book that won’t necessarily make sense to us until the final sentence is written in both our narrative and the connected stories that are being told in the lives of others. In His perfect time, His purpose for the cliffhangers and betrayals we’re enduring will be fully revealed… and then we’ll finally understand.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

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A new partnership between Co-op and The Hacking Games aims to engage young people who are at risk of being attracted to cybercrime by offering them a novel pathway into the tech sector

For many young people at school or college, having a firm grasp of digital skills sits at the heart of future learning and earning opportunities. But for their teachers, ensuring these skills are used for good is a complicated lesson.

According to The Hacking Games – an organisation dedicated to helping young people with hacking skills get jobs in cybersecurity – criminal gangs are increasingly searching popular online gaming environments for talented teenagers who they can groom into working for them.