From scripture study; From the author; Gods Unpredictable Ways; Joseph, in the Old Testament, was allowed to be sold into slavery so that when the proper time came he would be in Egypt, where he was going to be trained to be a ruler and used mightily of God. (Genesis 50:20) How would you have transferred Joseph to Egypt, preparing his character all the while for the position he was to hold? How would you have instilled within Joseph patience? Fairness? Courage? Leadership? I dont think I would have seriously considered the slavery, prison, betrayal routes that the Lord chose for Joseph. I wouldnt have been able to comprehend how the treachery, his brothers hatred, the lonely hours separated from his beloved father, and the interminable days in prison could have been part of his preparation as a ruler in Egypt. The unfathomable ways of the Lord. Have you ever noticed one of the important details that seemed to determine Gods deliverance from Egypt for the Israelites? Genesis 15:13-16: Then Jehovah told Abram, Your descendants will be oppressed as slaves in a foreign land for 400 years . . . after four generations they will return here to this land; for the wickedness of the Amorite nations living here now will not be ready for punishment until then. The Amorites? They fit into Your plans? Theyre enemies of Israel! Why should they be considered and be the factor that keeps us enslaved? Are You aware of our misery? Dont You see how we are mistreated? I just dont understand. Every detail, even the lives of their enemies, had to be ready. The unfathomable ways of the Lord. The man was lying at the gate of the Temple. This had been his regular station for many years, for he was lame from birth and was carried there every day to ask for alms. Jesus of Nazareth passed by that gate and no doubt the poor man held out his cup and cried, Alms! Alms! But Jesus passed him by! And then one day, Peter and John passed that gate, and when the lame man called out for alms, they said, We dont have any money to give you, but we give you what we have to offer . . . in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! (Acts 3:1-8) Jesus had seen him. Peter and John had passed that way before. Why was he healed today? The fullness of time had come for him...and for 5,000 souls who listened as Peter preached. Every detail was ready. The compassionate ways of the Lord. Our Lord lingered when Martha and Mary sent their urgent plea, Come quickly. Lazarus is very ill! Why did He linger? What was His plan? He knew what was going to happen, and that great glory would come to God if He would just wait for a few days until all the details had been arranged. Martha and Mary didnt know what His plans were. Can you imagine how distressed they were? Where is He? Why doesnt He come? Whats taking so long? I cant endure this waiting any longer! Surely He received our message! Do you think that maybe He doesnt know? But the ways of the Lord were good. (Luke 11:1-44) The ways of the Lord are good. Belief in Gods sovereignty gives us the security of knowing God is in control, but it also assigns us the responsibility of using our freedom to make wise choices and to remain faithful to Him. It assures us that God is transcendent without canceling out the important role we play. Gods sovereignty allows us to believe that He is bigger than our circumstances and will make our lives better through those circumstances. - Gerald L. Sittser: A Grace Disguised Mark 9:24: Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief. From me: I know in my own life, that God had definitely used my broken road as a training ground for me. He has used every circumstance and every issue in my life to bring me to a place of surrender, where I could finally realize and learn that all I needed, was to completely rely on Him for everything! Now, that may sound like some sort of cop out to some, but in reality, Gods plan is to supply our lives with everything we need , so that our lives can be fruitful and give him glory. So, if thats His plan from the start, why would He not want to supply our lives with the tools well need to live that life? Truth is, He does supply it all, we just for some reason, always want to take our own path. To take the road we choose instead of Gods path. Our path, not usually leads to pain, but, we choose it anyway. We choose the hard path because were gonna show the world that we did it our way. Well, when I choose my own way, I can thank myself for the pain it brings. When I listen to Gods leading and follow His path, it leads to success and peace in Him. The cool thing about us making our own mistakes though, is that just as Romans 8:28 states, that All things work together for good for those who love God and He will always give us a lifes lesson to learn from our mistakes. Its up to us to choose to learn from them. Or let them destroy us. As for me, I have chosen to follow The Lord. Even though I have made this decision, I still mess up. The really awesome thing though, is that my Lord and Savior knew that was going to happen and went to the cross and resurrected for me, so that Id have a way to get back to Him. But guess what? He did it for you too. Now you know. What are you gonna do about it? Praise You Lord for Your goodness! Peace in Christ yall Ivy
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:32:22 +0000
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