January 15, 2023

History is His Story . . .

 

We are on vacation staying in a place where the television lists only station call letters without telling us the current or future programs. At first it was annoying but we really don’t want to watch television anyway, and this gives me an illustration of what it is like to not worry about what is going on in the world, now or in the future. We don’t know anyway. Trusting the Lord for what happens is a lot better than flicking channels and trying to figure it out!

(By grace) which (God) lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight makes known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:8–10)

MacArthur sums it up with this statement: “God is intimately involved in the flow of human history and is directing its course toward a specific, predetermined climax.”

My hubby tends to be future-oriented and thinks about what’s next. Others are stuck in the past with varying symptoms. I tend to think about now which has a few drawbacks. My memory for the past is vague and history is usually boring. However, I make future plans one step at a time, not a life plan or even a daily plan because God is involved and directing what happens in my life just as He is directing human history towards the climax He has predetermined.

The above passage from Ephesians says Jesus is the goal for our future and in Him all things will be summed up. Whatever that entails gives theologians all sorts of ideas and theories, but it is more like having a TV service that does not identify future or even current programs. We really cannot guess all of it, only that . . .

For in (Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:19–20)

The future is settled. God holds it and I trust Him with it. And what about the present? If I turn on the TV here, I can see the programs and make a guess what they are or what they are about, but without the guide it is largely a hopeless task. Is that a new detective mystery or an old episode of a cop show? Is that a Hallmark romance or a soap opera? Do I even care? The daily news is different because the OT assures me that God is not sitting back watching our idiotic behaviors. He is involved:

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness . . . It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. (Isaiah 40:15–17; 22–24)

God is in control, not surprised or thwarted by anything. Eventually all will be made right in Christ. Knowing this is like shutting off the TV and going for a walk in the park in the sunshine. Knowing this is also a gift from the Lord. He gives His children the ability to see beyond the past and the present and get a tiny glimpse of His eternal purposes. For right now, that glimpse banishes all speculation and worries. I can enjoy today because “This is the day that the Lord has made, I can rejoice and be glad in it!”

Thank You Lord for this day, for this hour with You and for the very next breath that I take. My life — and the world — is in Your gracious and capable hands. Praise Your name!

CONSIDER: What verses would help someone who is stuck in the past or cannot get beyond past hurts? What truths would help someone who is so forward thinking that they neglect present responsibilities? Or they try to predict or plan for the future without really knowing what will happen in the next minute or hour?

 

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