Master of the master plan . . .

The Bible can be summed up in three statements: God made it; humanity ruined it; God remakes it. Every time I read the world news, it seems obvious we are in the second phase, yet it is that third one where the Lord wants my focus.

The Word of God helps me with this by continually repeating the good news. God is God and totally capable of accomplishing His purposes:

“The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.” (Psalm 93:1)

The psalms are filled with words of praise and worship. Declaring God is God is not a chant or a mantra; it is a truth that all who love Him know and are glad to tell the world. He is our vision and hope. His plan is our goal and keeps us stable, even as the world wobbles and reels under the weight and actions of sinful souls. Yet they will not be able to ruin God’s plan because:

“For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.” (Psalm 97:9)

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” (Psalm 115:3)

“For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:28)

While the remaking is not the sole task of God’s people, He uses us to declare His purposes. I am to live in response to His promises, fighting sin, yielding to His rule over me, and telling others how Jesus Christ gives eternal life and renewed hope to all who trust in Him:

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:11–16)

As I read these verses, the sinful antics of those who resist God remind me of squirming bugs impaled on a stick. They may spread death, destruction and fear buy they can only go as far as God allows.

I also interpret the so-called ‘natural’ disasters as warnings to those who think they are the masters of their fate. God allows His creation to warn us that we, and all schemes to rule this world for personal gain, are nothing compared to His mighty power and plan. Even as it is torn apart, God shows us that His power to both destroy and rebuild are mightier than anything humanity can do.

I am not only encouraged by reminders of who is the Boss in this messy planet, but also filled with praise. It is not fully evident yet, but the day is coming when God’s reign will be revealed and “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

^^^^^^^

Oh Jesus, my heart joins the heart of the psalmist to say: “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”

And to those who are not His people yet, I and the psalmist add: “Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.” (Psalm 95:1–8)

God’s Impossible Plan

Our church has a book club. We met last night to talk about the latest volume on our list. In that conversation, we discussed how God’s ways are not rational. For instance, a sincere giver will discover that she cannot out-give God. The more that is offered in His name, the more He refills our account. This is not only about money, but about other treasures in our lives.
 

God’s ways are not our ways. He began the church with a small group of men and women who had very little going for them, at least in the eyes of their contemporaries. They were ordinary people who had jobs, families, and other responsibilities. Yet God entrusted with a great commission to go into the world with the gospel, and as they were going, to make disciples. 

Since that small beginning, the church of Jesus Christ has multiplied to millions of members. As the Bible says, there is no force on earth, human or satanic, that can overcome it. Eventually, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God (Philippians 2:10-11).

This seems impossible, even absurd. However, Jesus had a plan. This would not be accomplished by mere human power. Before He left, Jesus gathered His people and told them,

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 1:8)

This then is the difference. To make all challenges melt before them, He gave them the Holy Spirit who alone means no limit to what God can do. For those who believe in Jesus, our strength is not in ourselves, but in and from Almighty God.

We don’t always cooperate. This is no secret. Our failures make far greater headlines than our successes. We fail when some of us move ahead with our own ideas of how to build the kingdom. Sometimes we disobey God with catastrophic consequences. Yet Jesus made this promise: . . . . I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) 

The building blocks are His people, admittedly a ragtag group at times. We stumble about, not certain of what we are doing, sometimes taking our eyes off the goal, sometimes not getting along, and often feeling weak and inadequate, yet this task has never depended on our power or expertise. It is about the power of the Holy Spirit who often works contrary to appearances and in spite of weaknesses and failures. Because of the power of God, He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or imagine, even multiply and build His family when it seems that we are totally impotent and helpless.

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God, I’m amazed at You. You told Paul that Your strength is perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), which makes no sense to the rational mind, but You do it. You can use anything and anyone to accomplish Your purposes, not only to astonish the naysayers, but to glorify Your Name. Help me today to cooperate with You in whatever You are doing and fit me into Your grand and amazing plan.