Amidst God’s most specific explanation of the Secret, Ephesians 3:10 says, “His intent was that now, through the church [ekklesia], the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” The Greek word translated “manifold” means “infinitely diversified,” and this is its only use in Scripture. The more we get to know our Heavenly Father, the more we see how adept He is at precisely caring for each of us while carrying out His purpose of the ages with each of us.
I love Springtime, when much of God’s handiwork is on display. Gorgeous, colorful birds come to our feeder, and a plethora of plants and flowers comes to life in a kaleidoscope of colors. And, as Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Answer: YES!!!
Our world today is being subjected to something horrible that is virtually unparalleled in history, and millions of its citizens are scared out of their minds. But you and I can rest in our God and our Lord, confident of their abiding care. “But blessed is the one who trusts in Yahweh, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jer. 17:7-8). Amen.
As you probably know, the lie that God has “absolute foreknowledge” diminishes rather than amplifies His magnitude and resourcefulness. Even more distorting is the corollary untruth that I heard a prominent Christian teacher say the other day on the radio about the current crisis: “All things occur out of your plan and purposes. We must learn to live in the tension between the existence of evil and the sovereignty of God.” How much more difficult it must be for someone who accepts the lie that “God is in control” to really believe that God loves him and is working for his good.
God’s promises about His loving, real time involvement in every aspect of our lives give us assurance that He sees far enough ahead of us that He is ready to help us with everything, including towels. Here’s one of His pledges: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom. 8:32).
Segment 14 of One Day With The Creator, titled “God’s Foreknowledge and Man’s Free Will,” contains the analogy of me playing chess with Bobby Fisher. Bobby will crush me, but not because he knows ahead of time which moves I will make. Rather, his expertise is so great that he doesn’t need to know what I will do, because he can weave any move I make into his winning strategy. I quote from Greg Boyd’s enlightening book, God of the Possible, as follows:
It takes a greater God to steer a world populated with free agents than it does to steer a world of preprogrammed automatons…The God of the possible creates the “Choose Your Own Adventure” structure of world history and of our lives, within which the possibilities of human free choice are actualized…A God who knows all possibilities, experiences novelty, and is willing to engage in an appropriate element of risk is more exalted than a [bored] God who faces an eternally settled future.
What is now “settled” about the future is, in fact, “written in stone” (actually, in blood) because of the obedient work of Jesus Christ. Our guarantee that he will at any moment rescue us from this insane world is our basis for trusting the Dynamic Duo today to do “exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think,” no matter the circumstances of our lives. To the extent that we trust our God and our Lord, we make biblically informed choices, and lay up rewards that the Lord will give us at his appearing.
The darker it is, the brighter a light appears. This world is about as dark as I’ve seen it in my lifetime, and the Lord Jesus will give us plenty of opportunities to shine the light of God’s Truth and love into individual hearts. Let us “run to the battle,” keeping in mind the first words of every angel that ever showed up: “FEAR NOT!”
Comments
What Joy to be reminded that God continually is working for my good! I’ve read Don’t Blame God because it is full of encouragement. My friends keep trying to tell me God is in control – it’s enough to make you want to scream! There is a young man who is asking questions and he loved hearing that his choices make the difference in his life and the relationship he can have with a personal Lord and Savior. I will send him to your website and get him the book. I’m very excited about him seeing this wonderful truth, and being able to know what a difference this will make in his life and possibly others. Love to you all at TLTF.