GETTING GOD'S PERSPECTIVE

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. [Isa 40:27-28]

“The Lord made mountains to climb, not to look at, and up there one understands why- seeing the vista that most folks never see, with the sense of farness that most never feel.” Jim Elliot

Providence and Service

“Almighty God, just because He is almighty needs no support. Twentieth-century Christianity has put God on charity. So lofty is our opinion of ourselves that we find it quite easy, if not enjoyable, to believe we are necessary to God.” A.W. Tozer

When I was growing up in the church, it was a common thing to hear evangelists and missionaries attempt to motivate us to go to the ends of the earth to complete the Great Commission. I still remember one story that was designed to get us to leave all for the “sake of Christ and the lost.” It was told that Jesus was met by an angel as he returned to heaven. The angel asked, “Jesus, with you in heaven, how will the heathen in the world be saved?” Jesus answered, “I have established my Church and commissioned them to go to the ends of the earth.” “But, Jesus,” the angel queried, “What if your people don’t go?” What is the back-up plan?” Jesus hesitated, and then said, “I have no other plan.”

Providence and Prayer

"Prayer is not designed to inform God, but to give man a sight of his mercy; to humble his heart, to excite his desire, to inflame his faith, to animate his hope, to raise his soul from earth to heaven." Adam Clark

The doctrine of providence should give us great confidence. It affirms that God controls everything for the glory of his name and the salvation of his people. Paul said it like this: “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” [Eph 1:11-13]

Providence and Evil

“The church has not been spending its energy to go deep with the unfathomable God of the Bible. Against the overwhelming weight and seriousness of the Bible, much of the church is choosing, at this very moment, to become more light and shallow and entertainment-oriented, and therefore successful in its irrelevance to massive suffering and evil. The popular God of fun church is simply too small and too affable to hold a hurricane in his hand, The biblical categories of God’s sovereignty lie like land mines in the pages of the Bible waiting for someone to seriously open the book. They don’t kill, but they do explode trivial notions of the Almighty”.  John Piper: The Sovereignty of God in Suffering

Piper’s comment was addressing the church’s shallow and weak response to the terrible events of 9/11. The church of today simply does not think or sink deep enough into the truth of God’s Word to display a God great enough to rule even over the calamities like 9/11. In our entertainment, fun-oriented church, we simply have not taken the time or the discipline to mine the truth hidden deep within the Scriptures. Consequently, our God is too small. He simply is not the God “who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” [Eph 1:11-12]