Verse of the day: Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the
womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who
makes everything.
There
are many things we do not understand about God and His ways. Isaiah 55:8-9
tells us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are higher than
our ways. What we think is fair and just, God may see differently as He sees
the whole picture while we only see a small fragment. When we see someone who
does wrong and suffers severe consequences, while someone else who also does
wrong suffers none; we do not understand, but in both instances God is in
control. We look at the forecast and plan to plant our seeds in the garden
based on what the weather is indicating, and then there is a sudden change, a
frost, that renders our garden barren. We make plans to gather with family or
take a vacation, but it never happens because tragedy strikes and either a
family member dies, or we meet the day of our death. The bottom line is that
regardless of the signs, whether the wind is blowing in a certain direction or
the clouds seem to promise rain, we just never know what will happen next (v.
4). One thing we can be certain of is that God is in control, and He does know.
For this reason, when we make our plans, we must always be ready to accept any
changes God might make in those plans. We must never count Him out in our daily
life, knowing that regardless of what takes place, whether we view it as
positive and fair or negative and unjust, God is in control, and we may never
understand why He allows what He allows or disallows what we think should be
different. James 4:13-17 tells us that life is like a vapor and we do not know
what will happen tomorrow, and for this reason we must make our plans saying, “If
the Lord wills”. The writer of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, reminds us that
there are many things about God’s creation that we do not comprehend. Where
does the wind originate or how do bones grow in the womb? There is so much
about God’s creation that we will never understand, although we make our
attempts through science. When the weather person cannot seem to predict the
weather accurately, it is because they fail to include God into the equation. I
laugh when I hear, even Christians, attribute the changes and unpredictability of
the weather to “mother nature”. God questioned Job about His creation, and it
brought Job to silence and the confession that he knew nothing, as God brought
him face to face with his lack of understanding of God’s ways (Job 38-42). All
we may know about our God is written in the words of His Scriptures. However,
regardless of how much we learn about Him and how much we get to know Him, the
bottom line is that His ways are far beyond our understanding (Job 5:8-10; Ps
145:3; Is 40:28; Rm 11:33). The Christian life does not exempt us from
experiencing the hardships of life. When we serve the Lord, on any given day,
the unexpected can happen. The comfort we have in being born again believers is
that we know that our Heavenly Father is always in control, and in Christ we
have many promises that help us to endure and move forward, trusting God to
work all situations and circumstances for our good, and ultimately His glory
(Rm 8:28-29; Heb 13:5-6; Phil 4:6-7; 1 Pt 5:7). A life lived by faith is a life
that can be both challenging and exciting, as we will see and experience things
that will challenge our faith and what we believe about God. Let us allow God
out of the little boxes we have created for Him in our lives; and let us allow
Him be God in our lives. I guarantee that it will be life-changing, and life as
a follower of Jesus Christ will never be the same.
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