08/05/2023
Is what God is doing, or not doing, in your life a frustrating mystery? Do you pray for a certain thing over and over again, but it doesn't seem to be heard? How about the troubles in your life; does God's plan for you regarding them confuse or stump you? Well don't feel alone, and let's explore this mystery today.
“And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise." But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.”
Luke 18:31-34 ESV
Jesus told His disciples about His last days, but when He told them what was about to happen to Him, they didn't understand. As we read His words just now we understood better than they did because we have all of history to help us, but to them this was a defeat of all they had thought was happening, and a total mystery. How could their almighty God let this happen to his Son?
The will of God was totally perplexing to them, and it is equally perplexing to us during much of our lives. We read the scripture and study it as if there might be a secret key hidden within it that can open the mind of God to us, but all it really does is show us two things... first is that we should simply obey God when He speaks to us, and second is that we can't possibly understand His mind... we will only comprehend glimpses of His will, and only for a particular instance or time in our lives.
Oswald Chambers wrote of this as well, and here is what he had to say...
"God called Jesus to what seemed unmitigated disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death. He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's. But what seemed failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's, because God's purpose is never man's purpose." - Oswald Chambers
My father served in World War II, and during that war there were many battles. For the average soldier it was filled with tragic failures and many lives that seemed to be expended needlessly, but then again, they weren't privy to the greater picture. They couldn't see the strategy that was unfolding in the larger scheme of things. The sacrifice being made in the foxhole they were in was too far removed from Eisenhower's planning table for them to understand the reasoning. All they could do was trust in the general's ability to keep them alive, and lead them to victory so that they could return home. This is a miniature example of what is happening concerning God and what is transpiring in our day to day lives.
If the "grunt", or soldier, during WWII trusted in his orders, and obeyed them without question, he could do what was needed to be done each day, and his mind was calmed by so doing. If we trust without question in God and His love and care for us then we too will find rest in the troubled times that face us. Soldiers often venerated their generals, and we love God above all else.
When we look at our faith in such a real and simple illustration it becomes almost something we can grasp. The real life cancer, dementia, lost job, or failed marriage, that we might be facing becomes more bearable because we trust in God's will... His provision and care. We know this because His Word says so and He is unable to lie... He is without sin. If we can't believe that then there is only chaos in life.
If the soldiers had believed that their generals were liars in the 1940s then WWII was, what many reporters today would have us believe of all wars, that they are without purpose, direction, or overarching moral good. This is true of faith as well. If there is no underlying and immovable good in creation, then there is nothing in life worth fighting for, nothing worth praying for, and no government or God to stand for the good in humanity. Evil will win, Satan will have succeeded, and chaos will reign supreme in all the universe. Is this the strategy that Satan is employing today? .... to convince us that God is not good, that He is a liar, and not to be trusted? Well, that is a topic we will deal with on another day.
So First and foremost we must believe that God exists, then that He is good, doesn't lie, and that His will is beyond our ability to understand as we sit here on the battlefield in our foxholes of life. If we believe these things then we can trust in Him and know that what transpires is always good, and always within His will for us and the rest of creation.
Let's break this down a bit more... We know one thing for certain and that is this... we will die. So, when this happens will it occur in in a way in which we, and everyone in our lives, will think it is a good thing, and within the will of God? How can this thing, death, that we don’t fully understand, or grasp the absolute truth of, occur in such a way that someone will not question God in it? Do you see the dilemma? If we can't understand and trust God in death, which we admit is certain and undeniable, then how can we trust Him in the less certain things of life? The answer is faith, and this is why God has chosen us for it. This is what separates the righteous from the others. The ability to trust that God's plan for us always boils down to one simple sounding five letter word... faith.
Do you have faith? Are you employing it in every aspect of your life? Every Trouble you face? Every loss you experience? Can you believe in Jesus when what you thought was going to happen doesn’t? Can you maintain your faith in God when what you have prayed for seems to have fallen on deaf ears, and all that your own ears can hear is silence? I ask again… do you have faith?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
Hebrews 11: 1-3
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the measure of faith you have allotted me. I thank you for your goodness, truth, and perfection. Lord I ask that you bolster the faith I contain and allow me to see your will and purpose in all things of my life. Holy Father, your will and mind is far beyond my ability to grasp in its entirety, but if you will just allow me to understand that glimmer of it which is helping me through my tough spots I will be appreciative. For all those times when you remain a mystery to me, and your will is just beyond my ability to fathom, I ask for the faith required to see me through. Lord, you promised not to put more on me than I can bear, and so I ask that as I approach my limit that you will increase my faith so that I can bear a greater load. In this I praise you, in this I trust in you, and in everything believe and love you.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””
Romans 1:17 ESV
Rich Forbes