I think it's a nearly universal experience for believers that we can read the Bible for years and years, and still occasionally have those "Where has THAT verse been all my life?!" moments. It happened to me again a couple of days ago. I was reading these words in Job:
"But he [God] is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind." (Job 23:13-14)
I had many reactions to reading this. Here are a few, in no particular order:
1. God is sovereign throughout our lives, which is very reassuring and comforting. He is God, and we are not.
2. God appoints certain events, both those that feel good to us and those that don't, for our ultimate well-being and sanctification.
3. This reminds me of a John Piper quote: "God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of 3 of them."
4. These verses are very similar to Proverbs 16:9. "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."
5. Where should we turn in times of trouble? Psalm 57:2 gives us the answer: "I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me."
6. I love that God has a purpose for me! I may not always know exactly what it is, but He "...who began a good work in you will bring it to completion..." (Phil. 1:6)
7. How amazing is it that our God has "many such things in his mind" for each and every one of us? I cannot fathom that kind of brain power. I can't even remember what I had for dinner two days ago.
How about all of you? Do these verses in Job teach you something or remind you of other similar words in the Bible? I'd love to hear from you. 😉
To funny, I just referenced the Prov. verse 16:9 in the email I just sent to the women in the prayer group "Hour of Prayer". Life is making it difficult for us to set a day and time to meet once a month and we are emailing all these plans back and forth, so I wrote "if we want to make God laugh just tell Him your plan".
ReplyDeleteWhat we really need to do is STOP, PRAY and LISTEN after all His is the only plan that will actually work out. So Thanks Candy for this recap of what the ladies and I were just discussing, I know that I can say with certainty that the bible has an answer for every question that we can ask and more!
# 3. is my favorite, it makes me laugh because I wonder, how many things is God doing in my life and I am so clueless, just strutting along thinking that nothing much is really happening when there is a whole different dimension of activity going on about me.
And #1 reminds me who God is and who I am, which is nothing without Him, Jesus said;
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
Like you I am in AWE of the God whom we serve how He can hear all our prayers, know what's in all our hearts even with more understanding then we have, know what is going to come out of our mouth's before the thought even appears in our mind, what a magnificent mind is the mind of God, El Elyon, THE MOST HIGH GOD!