March 29, 2024

Understanding God’s Ways

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Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to Him for protection.
Proverbs 30:5  NLT

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I have a friend who, if she reads something in the Bible, then she believes it is true.  No questions asked…it’s just true.  If God says that it can happen, it’s true.  She’s not a “who, what, when, where, why, and how” type of person;  she’s an “Okay, I trust You, God, and I know that if Your word says that this is so, then it is so.”  I envy her ability to be like this.  I wish that I didn’t have so many questions, and I wish I didn’t need to know exactly how things were going to work.  I like to reason my way through things logically.  However, the things of God are not always going to be able to reasoned through logically.  Instead, like Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God proves true…”.  We have to simply trust and believe that God is going to do as He says He will.

If I had been born in Biblical times, I can only imagine what my story would look like in the Bible.  (Yes, I would have story in the Bible. It might be only those little blurs, but I would be mentioned.)  Let’s take a look at some stories in the Bible in which the people had faith in God’s word, simply because He said it….

Noah

So God said to Noah, ‘I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth! Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.”
Genesis 6:13-14

Noah’s reply?

So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.
verse 22

WHAT?!  No questions?  None?  Not a single one?  Now THIS is the type of faith my friend has.

 

Joshua

But the Lord said to Joshua, ‘I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors.  You and your fighting men show march around the town once a day for six days…  On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priest blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”
Joshua 6: 2-5

And what was Joshua’s response?

So Joshua called together the priests…then he gave orders to the people….
verse 6

Seriously, though? Marching around a city and shouting is supposed to bring down some walls? How unreasonable and illogical does that sound? It makes absolutely no sense! But, it happened though.

Mary

Now this lady—Mary—she is my kind of girl.  We need to ask some questions!

Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
Luke 1:34

You see when Gabriel came to tell her that she had found favor with God and would be conceiving a child, she had questions. This just didn’t make sense to her…just HOW could she have a baby and yet still be a virgin.  IMPOSSIBLE!  Gabriel explained,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you…
verse 35

After she received her answers, Mary replied,  “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true…” (verse 38).  Now, THIS is me.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking questions.

Wanting to understand is not a bad thing.
However, it should never get in the way of following God.

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Lord, help us to stay focused on You.  May we not be afraid to ask questions and seek understanding.  But may we also not let it hinder us from proceeding in our relationship with You.  Amen.