THE WIDER CANVAS Hosea 9-11 | Revelation 3 “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” —Romans 12:2 God’s plans may not always make us glad, but they are good! His plans may not always seem pleasant, but they are perfect! When we see it to be good and acknowledge it to be perfect, we will discover it to be pleasing. The ultimate example is the Lord Jesus Christ who, in obedience to His Father, carried out the will of His Father. On the night of His arrest, He said to His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (v. 39). If we are going to serve God, we must be honest and realistic. There is a price to pay for obedience that will take us to the front lines of battle with Satan. We are not exempt from danger, tears or pain. But beyond the immediate suffering, the unanswered questions, the pain of battle, there is good that is being accomplished. Isaiah, seeing down the corridor of time, anticipated the suffering of Jesus. He wrote, “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer… after the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:10-11). Beyond the agony of the cross, Jesus saw the purpose of the cross; generations and millenniums of people being redeemed and reconciled to God. God is under no obligation to explain what He is accomplishing in our lives. We may not be privy to an end result, but sometimes He will give us a glimpse as He often did with people in Scripture, but otherwise there will be no explanation from heaven. That is why we “live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Though we are not exempt from hardship and persecution, we are equipped and empowered to go through them with the knowledge that nothing touches us without the permission of God, and that He is in business with us, not for our comfort, but to be effective and significant in His overall purpose. We must keep in mind the struggles and tears are not the end of the story, for God is working out something good, perfect and pleasing. We must see His working on a much wider canvas than what is relevant to our immediate circumstances. What God does with us personally may be for the good of someone else and for God, which works out for our good as well because, as Christians, we live for the benefit of God and others as a primary concern. Prayer: Dear Lord, in my service to You, keep me mindful of the much greater purpose You have in store and allow me to serve You well. Thank You, Lord. To Reflect Upon: In my hardships, do I think about the much wider purposes of God?
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 13:28:43 +0000