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Do you ever sit and contemplate God's ways? What about His timing? And what about a combination of these two?
It is, of course, an effort in futility, if your goal is to understand God, for God's ways are far bigger than anything our human minds can wrap themselves around. As David put it, "Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?" (Isaiah 40:13 NLT). Or as Paul paraphrased this in his letter to the Corinthians: "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?' For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:33-36 NKJV)
Nonetheless, what a blessing to meditate on His ways. It will serve to strengthen your faith, draw you closer to Him, and help with every other spiritual aspect of your life.
I was blown away yesterday. I had been asked to speak to a group of people, and God had placed a message on my heart for them. Or at least, that's what I thought! And I pray to God that He did indeed bless them with this message! But do you want to know the one who was really bless? Yup! It was me! God knew that I needed this message to be forefront in my heart -- right now! So He arranged for someone to ask me to speak -- right now! And He placed the subject that I needed, in my moment, upon my heart to speak to them. There's no way the one who invited me to speak would have known this! It was God, moving in His ways, in His time!
But with the close of the sermonette, God wasn't done using this experience to help ... me!
You see, I struggle with many blemishes to my character, not the least of which is pride. Before I accepted to speak to this group, God and I had reviewed this besetting sin. I had given Him any prideful thought, I had renounced any temptation towards pride, and I had prayed a hedge of protection around myself against this ugly flaw to my character. Nonetheless, when people began to give me feedback on my talk, I could feel my arch-enemy trying to rise up its ugly head again. Only by the grace of God was I able to renounce it. But why does this continue to come back to haunt me? I recognize it as a sin, I hate it, I desire to be clean of it... So why is it still a struggle?
But here is where God's ways and His timing become even more interesting... In my quiet times with God, I read through consecutive portions of my Bible. Sometimes I read a handful of verses, sometimes an entire chapter, sometimes a single thought. As a result there is no way for anyone to predict where I will be reading in a day, a week, or a month. No one, that is, except God! He knows exactly when I will be reading what! And the next morning, after my evening battle with my arch-enemy, pride, the Bible passage I was to read for that particular day spoke to me about how to cleanse my heart of this pride!
So, God planned this invitation right at the time when He knew I needed the message I was to speak on. He placed the exact message on my heart, and then reminded me of it multiple times before and after the presentation. And, He used this as a jumping-off point to begin working with me on permanently cleansing me of my pride!
Now I could just dismiss all of this and go on with my life. I have that choice, and it is the one I’ve often taken in similar situations. But there is another choice, one which will help instill all of these teachings in my heart! I can meditate on God’s ways. I can revel in His timing. I can worship Him and praise Him for His perfect love and how He works in my life.
Today I choose to do the latter. I choose to mediate on God’s love, on the magnitude of His wisdom. I choose to worship Him for His unfailing grace, His loving kindness and His caring Spirit. And you know what? As I do so, I feel the lessons learned cementing themselves in my head! I won’t be so apt to forget them because I choose to contemplate my loving Heavenly Father!
What is God doing in YOUR life? I challenge you to ask God to open your eyes and reveal where He is at work around you. Then take that extra step and meditate on His goodness. Revel in His love and kindness. Contemplate His giving Spirit and His grace! You won’t be sorry, for this simple exercise will serve to draw you much closer to God!
Oh, and if you would like to know more about the cleansing process that God gave me that day, stay tuned next Saturday for, “Cleansing Our Hearts”!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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