Trust in the Lord?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5; NASB).

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
Continuing on from yesterday. I think it is safe for me to assume that most of you will agree that nothing happens in this universe unless God permits it—the good, the bad, and the indifferent (if there is such thing). Furthermore, I think it is safe for me to assume that most of you also believe that God has perfect foreknowledge, i.e. He knows exactly what He will permit to happen, when He will permit it to happen, how it will happen, where it will happen, and who will be affected by its happening. Moreover, I think you will agree that He permits nothing to happen unless He considers it “good” that it happen, not necessarily the act itself, but the events that surround the act. In other words, I think you will agree that He permits nothing to happen that would fall outside the parameters of Paul’s declaration that “ . . . God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28; NASB; emphasis added). Even so, it seems to me that most Christians sincerely believe that they somehow have the power to avoid, prolong, change, or eliminate the what, when, how, where, and who of God’s foreknowledge.
I will be the first to admit that there are times when avoiding or prolonging or changing, even eliminating what is obviously God’s plan for my life, seems like the only sane thing to do, especially for someone, such as I, whose pain threshold is rather low, who doesn’t even like to be inconvenienced. However, when I step back a bit and take another look, I always have to ask myself this: Why am I attempting to skirt around what is, obviously, God’s plan for me? Why do I want to avoid what He desires for me? Whatever my selfish reason might be, I must hasten to tell you that the most foolish thing a Christian can do is to attempt to avoid that which God has predetermined for his life. My attempting to do so can mean ONLY one thing: I really do not trust God. Well, let me adjust that just a bit: I do trust Him, but I trust Him to do what He deems best for me, not what I deem best for me.
The truth is this: Coming to that place of compliant surrender to His sovereign, predetermined plan for my life, is no easy task; in fact, I cannot do it. Even after 60+ years as a Christian, there are still many occasions in my life, when I catch myself futilely trying to manipulate around what I know is His best for me. Thankfully, He keeps on loving me, nonetheless!
Be patient with me, though, because I am old, and I am doing the best I can! Under-stand? I thought you would. (=: