Thankful He Knows Best

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.     Ephesians 1:15-18 (NLT)

[God said to Job,]“Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?
Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
Do you know the laws of the universe?
Can you use them to regulate the earth?”               Job 38:31-33 (HCSB)

God knows better than I do about any subject. Now before you say, “Duh!”, let’s consider if I accept this not just in my head, but in the way I live my life.

There are many people having a rough holiday season. They may be having turkey sandwiches alone for Thanksgiving instead of a roasted turkey and a table full of family. They may have no presents for Christmas because the choice was the mortgage and power bill or gifts. They are working hard but prices are increasing and salaries are not. And certainly even this life here in the United States is a different world from the majority of people on this earth who have no clean water, little food, basic shelter, and live with war in their streets.

I do not claim to understand God’s plan in all of this. I know that God is love. I know that God has shown throughout our known history that He is closely present and involved in the lives of His children. I can see God in the hope and strength that brings us through these conditions and gives a spirit of victory if we allow Him to do so. There are so many “threads” in this tapestry that I cannot possibly imagine what my decisions will unravel or make into a beautiful picture. God’s words in Job 38-41 bring me into the reality of the all that God created and how only His omnipotent power and wisdom can keep it all where it should be. Do I begin to see myself in relationship to the all?

Tomorrow, when I bow my head along with my husband, I will take whatever time needed to come quietly before God to give thanks and draw close to hear what He has to say on this day. It is going to be a quiet day for us and there is an opportunity to turn my ears toward God and listen to that still, small voice. Like a child who initially rebels against the wishes of the parent, so I have pulled myself away from God and tried to find my way alone. Now, at this time in my life, I want to keep my hand tucked safely in my Father’s hand and with with my friend, Jesus, until we have talked out my questions and concerns. Our relationship changes and grows and we spend more time together and I learn who my LORD is and that He does know best.