Trusting God's Higher Ways
Isaiah 55:8-9
[8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
[9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I love these verses. I love to remember that God’s thoughts, plans, ways, methods, and strategies are infinitely higher and greater than my own. They are better in every way. They take me by surprise. They go where I could have never dreamed. They are accomplished in ways that surpass any and all expectations that I ever had. And this is wonderful.
What Kind of God Would He Be?
It is wonderful b/c what kind of god would God be if we could wrap our minds around Him and His ways? What kind of god would He be if we could predict where He would go and how He would get there? What kind of god would He be if He worked out of the same small and limited view of the world and history that we do? I will tell you what kind of god He would be. He would be small. He would be like us. He could be rivaled. He could be called into question and it would be right to doubt Him.
But He is none of those things. He is infinitely BIG, working from a vantage point we can’t even comprehend, with power to execute His plan so great no one can thwart His will for even a millisecond. The chasm that exists between His plane of thought and ours is too big for words to capture. In His unending wisdom, knowledge, and power He has planned all of eternity, from start to finish.
Isaiah 46:9-11
[9] Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
[10] declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
[11] calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
The Illusion of Chaos
Sometimes, however, life does not feel as if God is in control. We may question where God is as…
• Our loved ones face health concerns
• Our plans crumble around us
• We struggle financially
Or even more seriously, as…
• We watch innocent people die from wars breaking out overseas
• We watch countless dying from an epidemic of the Ebola virus breaking out
• We hear about Christians killed for their faith in Jesus
Seeing the Whole Story
We may ask, “Where is God in all of this?” But what Isaiah harkens us back to is that God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. His plan is impeccable. We may not see it from our limited vantage point, but God sees the whole story, not just the page in history we sit in.
• He knows how it all started and what it was working towards
• He knows the great conflicts that will arise
• He knows how He and His Son save the day from all the evil that we brought on the world
• He knows how He works all the evil committed in the world together for good
• He knows it all
Every detail of history has been accounted for and meticulously planned in concert with God's greater plan of good. Our struggle to see what God sees shouldn’t cause us to doubt Him, but to trust Him. If we could wrap our minds around it all how great of a plan would it be? It would be human at best. This leaves us but with one option, trust Him.
Trusting the Sovereign Story Teller
As God writes the story of history, He is not telling the same old story that has been told time and time again. He is telling a story that incomparable. He is writing the masterpiece of all masterpieces. We might not see it clearly now, but we can trust Him b/c His thoughts are not like our thoughts and His ways are not like our ways. They are higher. They are better. Infinitely so.
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