Halo 2’s Arbiter: The Answer We Didn’t Ask For
One of the most controversial moments in Halo 2 was the developer’s decision to switch the player’s perspective in the middle of the game from our beloved Master Chief to a brand new character… the Arbiter. While this felt like a classic “bait and switch” at first, playing as the Arbiter and seeing the Chief from a different point of view enhanced our understanding and appreciation for both characters, adding some much needed depth to the stoic character of the Master Chief in the process. Looking back, I didn’t appreciate the change in the moment… but those Arbiter levels ended up becoming some of my favorite levels in the entire game.
Much to my chagrin, the Lord doesn’t always answer my prayers in the manner that I asked or the way that I hoped He would… but that is because He is telling a bigger story than the one I can see. He hears all of our prayers, but He only answers them in consistency with His divine will and character… and in those times when it seems like His response is at odds with my desires, I’ve found that these unwanted detours He takes me on end up becoming some of my favorite parts of my entire journey.
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:1-4
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15
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