God's Choices. . . .

 

After a time of searching for the best ways to take care of my health so I can live well and long, I read a section of Charnock and am reminded that my times are in God's hands. This does not mean faith replaces a good diet, exercise, and other sensible practices, but faith trusts the Lord to do what He wants for me. The following comes from an edited version of Charnock.

God's sovereignty is manifest in bestowing much wealth and honor upon some, and not to others that work harder. He abases some, elevates others, enriches some and others are impoverished. 

Some labor to no profit and others sit and what they wish for falls into their lap. One lives in a palace and the other a cottage. One holds a scepter and another a spade. One wears rich clothes and another rags. “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all.” (Proverbs 22:2)

Just as God can “send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city” He can also cause “one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither” (Amos 4:7)

He can dispose of the goods of every person, even take away from one, and pass over the propriety to another. He can reduce those who are high to a low condition and advance those lowly ones to plenty and glory. 

The sovereign acts of God mean, “For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.” (Psalm 75:6–7) If He dispenses benefits equally to all, I would soon think it my due. The inequality and changes preserve the notion of God’s sovereignty, and correct my natural unmindfulness of it. If there were no changes, God would not be feared as the “King of all the earth.”

Not only all this, but I am not given His reasons for what He does. The disciples asked Jesus about His time for restoring the kingdom to Israel, and He replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:6–8) In other words, do what He tells me to do now and forget trying to know what God has for the future.

God could have created the world in a moment. He could have delivered His people from Egypt without the plagues. He could have transformed me to the image of His Son the instant He saved me. He could have given me all I need to change my world, but He did not. He could have me living where I am now from the beginning, but. . . .  

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. (Acts 17:26)

PRAY: Dear Lord, all these are reminders that You do as You please and seldom give me a head’s up that allows me to walk by sight or vision instead of faith. I have no idea if my life will end today or in ten or twenty years. But I do know that You have a plan and all of it is Your glory and for my good. Enable me not only to trust You, but be joyfully content with not knowing anything but the next step You want me to take.

Not thankful? A slippery slope

Devotional readings this week focus on God’s ability to use all things for my good because all things are His servants. This is not just about His sovereignty but about His ability to know what is needed to transform my life. Sometimes it is a jolting event. Sometimes it is the unkindness of others or a scheme of Satan. Sometimes it is the shock of seeing my own sinfulness. Yet He says…

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22)

No matter what is going on, the Holy Spirit makes it possible to rejoice. The Word of God says I can rejoice in trials (James 1:2-4) for they produce steadfastness maturity, a good thing. It also says that weakness is an opportunity for the grace of God to make His power perfect. Such is the mystery of godliness. The only things that can ruin this amazing working of God is quenching the Spirit by refusing His joy, lack of prayer, and being unthankful. In fact, lack of thankfulness is a slippery slope that leads to darkness and sin.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:18–21)

Another thought from today’s reading is about God using other people to test my faith by their actions. The reading says, “I may not be able to give thanks for an unkind friend, but I can give thanks for the patience and meekness brought to me through the instrumentality of this friend’s unkindness.”

I can also give thanks if my reaction is impatience and annoyance, even anger — because God is showing me the stuff I need to confess, sin in my heart that He will cleanse as I bring it to Him. (1 John 1:9) This changes my attitude about contrary people. As instruments that serve God, I must give them the right receptivity, and if not, be thankful that God is using them to refine me. I want to obey this:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

When the events of life or the actions of people are uncomfortable or even evil, learning that God is still in charge is helpful toward understanding that this too can be used by God for my good:

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is… (Ephesians 5:13–21)

That passage goes on to add a variety of things that are the will of the Lord. One is to be filled with the Spirit. Then it ends with “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Complaining and wanting trials to go away is far easier than being thankful or looking for God’s hand in the trials, but because Jesus is my Savior and because He loves me, thankfulness for all things is wisdom.

PRAY: Lord, I look back at the worst trials and sorrows in life and see now how You have used them to keep my focus on You — and to help me see that having my eyes on You is important to being transformed into Your likeness — and being transformed is the will of God for me. How foolish I would be to drop thankfulness and refuse to accept that You use all things for my good.

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?