Ps. 46:8-11 - "Come...behold the works of the LORD: what desolations He hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder - He burneth the chariot in the fire. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD: I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE HEATHEN, I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH. The Lord of hosts is with us...the God of Jacob is our refuge". Selah (pause and reflect).
There is a difficult, but direct connection between trouble, the sovereignty of God, the glory of God, and the peace of God's people. Could it be that in the design of God, trouble and distress are just instruments that He uses for His ultimate glory? In our minds, that seems contradictory - a GOOD God using BAD things. It is at this point of apparent contradiction that we realize we have a choice to make....can I believe and trust in a God who works all things to the "praise of his glory" EVEN if those things sometimes hurt and confuse us? If you answer "no"...you will forever be restless and confused. If you answer "yes"...you have access to the last part of the verse: this same God "will be with you, the God of Jacob will be your refuge".
A Christian is someone who by faith makes the choice to accept God on His terms....not our own. Can I as an individual....accept the sovereignty of God and exalt Him in the face of trouble? Put Him above all else? That's the challenge. The immediate blessing is that if you believe and trust in God today, you have access to a supernatural peace that passes all understanding; let this guard your heart and mind today [Phil. 4:6-7] no matter what you face.
"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to" - Elisabeth Elliot
Pastor Andrew Smith
[email protected]
There is a difficult, but direct connection between trouble, the sovereignty of God, the glory of God, and the peace of God's people. Could it be that in the design of God, trouble and distress are just instruments that He uses for His ultimate glory? In our minds, that seems contradictory - a GOOD God using BAD things. It is at this point of apparent contradiction that we realize we have a choice to make....can I believe and trust in a God who works all things to the "praise of his glory" EVEN if those things sometimes hurt and confuse us? If you answer "no"...you will forever be restless and confused. If you answer "yes"...you have access to the last part of the verse: this same God "will be with you, the God of Jacob will be your refuge".
A Christian is someone who by faith makes the choice to accept God on His terms....not our own. Can I as an individual....accept the sovereignty of God and exalt Him in the face of trouble? Put Him above all else? That's the challenge. The immediate blessing is that if you believe and trust in God today, you have access to a supernatural peace that passes all understanding; let this guard your heart and mind today [Phil. 4:6-7] no matter what you face.
"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to" - Elisabeth Elliot
Pastor Andrew Smith
[email protected]
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