Month: August 2018

El Roi

“From eternity to eternity I am God.” Isaiah 43:13

Eternity to eternity seems to pretty much cover everything. There’s no time that’s excluded. Which means there’s no time when the Lord was not God and there’s no time when He will not be God. This should be comforting, reassuring, but it’s also kind of mind-boggling for those of us who live bound to the rising and setting of the sun.

We see things unfold in succession over a period of time. A tiny scene that moves frame by frame. God sees the entire panorama, the whole picture, all at once, complete, from outside the bounds of time. He knows it all because He sees it all. The fancy word for this is omniscience –  the state of knowing everything. Nothing is out of His sight or beyond His awareness; He cannot overlook something.

Hagar, Sarah’s mistreated servant, discovered this when she ran away. The angel of the Lord sought her out, instructed her, comforted her. Hagar’s desperate situation was the result of people’s sinful choices. Yet God didn’t overlook her, or abandon her, or write her off. “Thereafter, Hagar referred to the Lord, who had spoken to her, as ‘the God who sees me’” (Genesis 16:13). God saw more than just her hiding place in the desert; He saw her future and that of her son.

Sometimes the omniscience of God trips us up – if God saw this coming, how could He let it happen? Why didn’t He stop things before we got to this point? But God sees past this point. He sees the other side of this valley. He sees beyond the mountain blocking our view. And He would never have allowed us to go on this path if He didn’t also see something greater to come.

Because God is omniscient, nothing comes as a surprise to Him. Nothing catches Him off guard. He cannot be blindsided. His vision isn’t limited the way that ours is. His timetable is so much longer than ours because He sees from eternity. His ability to make good on His promises is unlimited. That’s why those who wait for God to reveal Himself will never be disappointed. He will always come through.

The omniscience of God should encourage us. We don’t know how things will turn out, but God does. He sees past our weakness, our denial, our betrayal, our running away, to the day we return home. He is not bound, constrained, or limited by the unfolding of time. He sees every moment at once – past, present, and future. If you’re a believer, God already sees you rejoicing in heaven with Him. The final outcome is as good as done for Him.

“I AM the Alpha and the Omega – the  beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I AM the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One.”  Revelation 1:8

It’s hot in here

We arrived home to 90 degree temperatures – inside. The a/c was out. We’d been on the road for 10 days and it was 9:30 at night. This definitely wasn’t in The Plan. Well, not my plan, which is clearly the best plan. So I was quick to be cranky (I was hot! and tired!), which is pretty much the same for me as opening the door to my enemy and welcoming him into my home.

Guess what my unwanted guest said as he stood at the door? If God loved you, this wouldn’t have happened.

Here’s what could have happened next. I could have invited my enemy and his lies right inside. I could have entertained him, offered him some lemonade and listened the stories he had to tell. But the thing is, every story he tells is a whopper, a tall-tale. A lie.

He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

So often we believe that God can do anything, but we just aren’t convinced that He will. I don’t mean in the sense that something will happen at a future time. No, I mean will in the sense of His desire and intention. We believe He could do something about our situation, our problem, our heartbreak, but He doesn’t want to. There’s a good that He could do, but He won’t do it for us.

It’s right back to the Garden. There’s Eve looking at the beautiful tree and its fruit thinking, This looks pretty good. There’s the serpent suggesting that God is holding out on her (Genesis 3:4-6). How can we keep falling for the same old lies?

In response, there’s the magnificent, generous love of God. It’s breathtaking in its scope – bigger, higher, deeper than we can really grasp (Ephesians 3:18-19). It’s painted in broad brushstrokes in Creation (Romans 1:20). It’s spelled out in fine detail at the Cross (Romans 5:8), where Jesus put Himself between us and our enemy so we wouldn’t have to listen to that tired, ancient lie that there’s a good God has but is unwilling to give.

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Romans 8:32

If God didn’t hold back His own Son, what will He hold back? The answer is nothing. Let the truth of that sink in.

So here’s the question – what about the a/c going out? Or the unexpected car repair or the dog pooping in the house? What about the missed promotion or the call from the doctor or the broken relationship? What about all this Stuff? If God loved us, wouldn’t this Stuff not happen to us?

There’s a future day – a will happen – when those things will no longer happen. And every day we face trials and challenges, we look forward with greater longing to when there is no more of that Stuff. Every challenge asks – do you believe it? Do you believe that God is greater than all this stuff, that He has overcome every thing that tries to drag you down? Because God says in spite of all this Stuff, “we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us” (Romans 8:37 CEV).

Stuff is part of living in a fallen and broken world. But it’s not the whole story. It’s not the last word. More is coming. So shut the door in your enemy’s face. Don’t give him a minute of your time. Because you have won so much more than a victory. The King has already given you the rich, lavish, glorious fullness of His heart.