Ready. Set.

"We must put down what offends us, those things that seem logical, and choose to see like He does."

WHEN ISRAEL WAS IN EGYPT, God had already prepared deliverance. In placing baby Moses in Pharoah's daughter's care, He set in motion the crossing of the Red Sea. What we read of in Exodus, the plagues which affected Egypt, the first Passover, the taking of Egypt's wealth, and even the pursuit of Pharaoh's army when he changed his mind, were all in motion long before the actual events. Though Israel couldn't see any of it, though they moaned in their bondage to Egyptian slavery, God was, behind the scenes, working for their ultimate good.

There has never been a generation in which the world was out of God's control and, while people suffered, He scrambled to catch up. When Noah was told to build the ark in preparation for rain that he had never seen before, to sail on an ocean that was many, many miles away, God had known this would happen and was in control of it. Rabbi Meir Soloveichik points out that the word for "violence" used in Genesis 6:11 is the Hebrew word "hamas." The entire population of earth, with the exception of Noah's family of 8 souls, was exceedingly cruel and excessively violent. 2 Peter 2:5 tells us Noah preached righteousness to the people while building the ark. The building of it took some 75 years, according to figures. That's a long time for people to hear the truth and reject it. Yet, in all of that, and despite the ungodliness of the people, God was not frustrated or confused. In fact, the Bible tells us He cannot be confused.

Israel and Judah’s captivity in Babylon did not take God by surprise. He had warned them for many decades that WHEN they sinned, WHEN they broke His covenant, captivity is what would happen as a consequence. Yet, though Jerusalem was destroyed in the process, God had prepared Nehemiah to rebuild it. He'd placed His heart for His people in Ezra. He had set in power Cyrus, a foreign king, to fund it. God had a plan of deliverance and restoration, of rebuilding, that would return His chosen people to their proper worship in the Temple long before its destruction ever happened.

Before the earth was formed, before the acts of Genesis began, before seeds were created to die, buried in the ground, and spring up and bear fruit, before woman was formed to carry young, before a garden was planted, which Adam and Eve would be told to have dominion over and to replenish the earth, before any of the scientific laws of gender and reproduction were ever needed, God created for His Son, Jesus, a body to inhabit. He set in motion the redemption of mankind, through Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, and through Calvary, the ultimate removal of death from this earth forever.

Not one generation nor culture has ever caught God off guard. Not one dictator or form of evil oppression as ever formed that He did not know far in advance. It is our limited vision that keeps us from seeing the full picture, and our need to impale ourselves with the little we do see that causes us to doubt Him. He is far larger than our human mind can comprehend, and His viewpoint across generations not lacking in anything. “Why, God, why” is not a question He avoids, but we usually ask it having already decided on the answer. Instead of asking in faith, with knowledge of His loving nature and generous character, we decide on His thought processes using our limited human ones. In truth, God delights to give wisdom and has promised us revelation of whatever we ask, but it will come when we are asking with a humble heart.

There is evil in the world and death and the effects of sin and death working upon it. But God sent Jesus to die and rise again so that authority (exousia) over the devil and demonic powers is returned to mankind. God sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to give His children the strength and power (dunamis) to overcome all the works of the enemy. God took care of what this generation needs to stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. He did so for every generation of the past as well. Our first victory from an ignorant mindset is to place this in our heart. “God is good and doeth good” must become established in our thinking. We must refuse to deviate from it and grow further in our knowledge of who He is. Then, when it seems like things have gone astray, and it looks like God is doing nothing about it, we refuse to take hold of any alternate ideas about what we see because we know who He is, and nothing can deter us from that.

What we don't understand God will reveal, but our position must always include a willingness to set aside our preferences and allow Him to speak. We must put down what offends us, those things that seem logical, and choose to see like He does. Time is always involved in healing, whether that is individual lives or nations of people, and God’s timing is frequently not our own. Why He delays full deliverance is for reasons He will reveal, but we know He is longsuffering and full of mercy, we know He does not use sickness and disease to teach us truth, so we can set those aside. We know He is specific and precise. He has proven this in His Word, time and time again, so He isn’t putting things off for any reason at random nor because He must make up ground. He has promised to work out all things for our good, so our good is His heart on any matter. Our faith in Him begins where our understanding ends. What our minds cannot figure out, we trust Him completely to finish, and for that finish to be exceeding, abundantly above.

A woman expecting a child must wait for delivery, but once the child is born, the pain of the delivery falls behind her for the joy of the infant she holds. Our struggles seem huge at the time. While standing in the mud, we feel how deep it is, but God leads us on a path out, which we walk one day at a time, and one day at a time, we rejoice in the fullness of what He is doing in us and around us. Because no one is more prepared for the victory than He is, and we are in Him, and He is in us.

“He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name. Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.” (Psalms 23:3-4 TPT)

“Everything good, healthy and beneficial originates in heaven and comes down from the Father who created the universe. He is always good and will never alter his methods of love. He does not waver, and he is certainly not the source of darkness and death! He is the source of life, and he chose to give us new life through Jesus—the true expression of God—that we might be the masterpieces of all his creation.” (James 1:17-18 Remedy)

Horse Images by OpenClipArt-Vectors from Pixabay
Horse Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com