God’s Wisdom

 

I love the surprises of God. Sometimes they are little things like all the lights are green when I need to get somewhere on time, or I find a bargain that I’ve prayed to find, or someone calls that I needed to visit. Sometimes He surprises me with unpleasant news. I didn’t expect my sister to die so soon and so quickly. Or Sunday’s sermon ties in to a convicting devotional with both challenging me to unwelcome change.

The point is, I cannot predict what God will do, except those times when I pray with absolute assurance that He is going to answer the way I’m hoping. We once tried to rent a house only to be told it was taken, but I knew we were going to live in that house. The person who planned to changed his mind and we were given the house.

Another time I knew that I should call a store and confirm a sale price, even though it was printed in the newspaper. I did, went to the store, and was told the sale was over. I said, “But I called…” and the clerk said she remembered that call and gave me the item for the sale price.

More recently, I was praying for a prodigal and a song came to mind that he would soon be “coming home” and I was so certain of it that I just kept singing that song. Within a few days, he called to share he was again actively following Christ.

These things are wonderful when they happen, and when they do not, I feel like a starving person. When the devotional writer says we need to be careful that we are not worshiping the gifts more than the giver, I am convicted. Yet how can the two be separated? It is the same with our dearest friends. They give us reasons to consider them dear, and those reasons cannot be laid aside. They define who that person is.

The devotional writers says if we wiped every promise out of the Bible we would still have God left and God would be enough — but without the things that God does, how would we know that He is enough? If He just surprised me all the time, prayer for help in a crisis or guidance in making decisions would be pointless. I would have nothing to base my hope and confidence on if I didn’t know that God makes and keeps His promises.

It seems the devotional writer is saying I should not assume that God will do whatever I want Him to do or be presumptuous in any way. I can remember a plebiscite taken in a town we lived in and a Christian was certain the vote would go God’s way. I thought of sports pundits and news people who predict winners and are often wrong, but did not say anything. How can we mere mortals be certain what our God of surprises is going to do? In this case, the plebiscite was voted against what that person was so sure would happen and I learned something about God. Again, who can second-guess Him?

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8–9)

Still, God is enough, yet this is the gist of it — not that all that God does is missing or unseen, but  His way of thinking and dealing with the world, the mess in the world, and the sinners that seem happy and in control is beyond my way of thinking. I don’t need a specific promise nor do I need a more solid doctrine, or deeper understanding. I just need to remember that He is able and my inability to see or deal with any of it with insight and understanding will always fall short. God’s ways will always be beyond my comprehension and that is precisely why I can trust Him. My ignorance of what God is doing is actually a form of proof for His greater power.

PRAY: Jesus, You know how I want to be a know-it-all who can figure out the reason things happen and the possible solutions that You will bring to those things. That is sheer arrogance on my part. It shows up in my pouting when it becomes apparent that I really have no clue what You are doing. Forgive my pride and lack of letting go of my suppositions, even if they are based on Your prior revelations of Yourself. I should have learned by now that even though You are faithful and reliable, You are also not likely to do the same thing twice. You will always surprise me with Your answers to my perplexities.

A Sure Thing

 

Very few people thrive in constant insecurity. I like to be certain about things, like the sun will come up tomorrow and there is going to be some goodness in the days ahead. I trust that the lights will go on when I hit the switch, or water will flow when I pump the handle. Faith fits easily with many of my expectations.

However, walking by faith is sometimes a challenge when the things I see with my eyes seem contrary to what God has told me. These days of pandemics, fires, floods, and much saber-rattling among the nations, even the most devout Christians struggle at times about the sovereignty of God, or that He cares about the messes that people get themselves into, or that He will eventually turn it all around.

However, the Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This verse has a strong sense of certainty apart from what is before our eyes. That is, faith is not being blind to life but trusting in God — whom we cannot see — to be involved in our world, not because we can always see what He is doing but because He reveals to us that He is reliable. That is, He makes promises and keeps them.

A few OT Hebrew words are sometimes translated as certain or SURE. They mean “to be reliable, conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief.” This is true of other things but certainly true of God and His Word. For instance, when Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharaoh, he said, “And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.”

“Sure” is translated from several Hebrew words that mean “right” or “ready” or “certain,” even “rests” in the sense that whatever it refers to is firmly established or resting. All these words describe the nature and character of God.

Psalm 93:1–2. “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. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.”

Psalm 19:7. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

God’s commandments are sure and reliable, as are His promises and prophecies.

Isaiah 25:1. “O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”

Hosea 6:3. “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Micah 4:1–2. “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

The certainty of who God is and what He is like is describe in the NT too. Many times Jesus emphasized it by saying, “Surely, surely . . .” The same Greek word is also used concerning the faith of His followers to show they are convinced or certain of the truthfulness or validity of something. This certainty is based on the promises of God, the reliability of what He says He will do. For example:

Philippians 1:6. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Faith can be imitated but not very well. That word is “presumption” referring to the idea that God will do what I think He will or ought to do, but really is more about what I want than about knowing His will. Another term for an error like presumption is taking God for granted. I am certain of His steadfast love for me, but cannot assume that I can do whatever I please and He will look the other way; His love is forgiving but it is not indulging. Putting my eyes on Jesus and being in the Bible daily helps me, yet I have days where I wonder if anything is sure and certain. Lord, I believe; help my uncertainties!