Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Woodrow Kroll
God Sees the Future
God sees around the proverbial corner of time, knows what’s around the bend, and sees what’s coming that we don’t. He knows where we’re likely to go and sometimes redirects our steps so that no harm comes to us. If we realize that even a pagan king’s heart is like channels of water in God’s hands and He directs them where He wills (Prov. 21:1), then we can trust Him with our unseen future. He knows us well enough to know how to protect us from ourselves.
Obedience Before Understanding
I have noticed a pattern in the Bible, and maybe you have, too: Disobedience comes before understanding. Abraham had no clue why or where he was going but just went when God called him. Abraham had no idea how Isaac would survive or be brought back to life if he was going to sacrifice him, but he just trusted God. I was in love, or perhaps it was lust, with a girl who was not a Christian, and I battled over this, knowing I’m not supposed to be unequally yoked with a nonbeliever (2 Cor. 6:14). So perhaps God was trying my heart to see if I would be obedient to Him or follow the desires of my lust. As it turned out, this girl would have been a bad choice, as I later found out that she’d been sleeping around with men, both married and single. I didn’t know it at the time, but, as always, God knows me best and always knows what’s best for me, thankfully, better than I know myself.
Breaking My Pride
I remember years ago getting into trouble with the law. There I sat in a jail cell thinking, “What have I done with my life!?” What a waste, I thought. However, it wasn’t until God humbled me that I saw my life was nothing without Him. I sensed I had a purpose in life, but I had to be broken first because God cannot fix what is first not broken. I was far too full of myself for God to fill me, so in His great wisdom, knowing what was best for me, He allowed me to come to the end of myself so that I could come to Him–broken, humbled, and, finally, ready to receive the free gift of grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Does that make sense?
Even the Bad Works for Good
Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, “… that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Just like when a clam gets a tiny bit of irritation from a grain of sand, it builds a calcium deposit around it, and this small irritation becomes a pearl of great price. Today I look at even a bad thing that happens to me as something God allows for His greater and higher purpose, even if I don’t understand it at the time.
The Doorkeeper
It’s not wise to try to jimmy doors open that God has not because it’s often walking through a door that’s been forced open, and that’s clearly not God’s will. I need to trust the Doorkeeper, Who has “set before [me] an open door, which no one is able to shut” (Rev. 3:8). When God closes one door, it can often force open another, but the point is, I need to sometimes wait for His timing for Him to open the door and not try to pick the lock because the truth is that the God who knows me best knows the best for me, and you, too.
Conclusion
God always knows what’s best for us 100% of the time, so we must learn to trust Him and not lean on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5) because God always has our best interests in mind and for His greater purposes, even when we don’t have the wisdom to recognize what that is.
