Gods Ways Are Not Ours
I'm currently reading the book of Exodus. Today during my time in the Word, God revealed something pretty amazing to me. I was beginning to read the story of Moses - how The Lord called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and what happened when Moses went before Pharaoh with God's order. I admit that I was frustrated and confused as I read. I was confused by several references to God hardening Pharaoh's heart to not listen to Moses, and frustrated as I read about each plague and all the suffering that came down on His people. Why didn't God just kill Pharaoh? Why did he "harden" Pharaoh's heart, making the whole process harder and longer on everyone? It made no sense to me at first, just as God's ways here on Earth don't make sense to us at first, if at all. I had to keep reading to understand.
Exodus 10:1-2: "Then the Lord said to Moses 'Go to Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them, that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them and that you may know that I am the Lord.'" There's the reason. God had to perform all of these signs (turning a scepter into a snake, water into blood, dust into gnats, etc.) to prove that it was really Him doing it, to prove that He alone is God, since we never believe and always doubt. God used the plagues to not only free the Israelites, but also to bring glory to His name by instilling the fear of God into the hearts of Pharaoh and all the Egyptians (as well as the Israelites). We always think and see things in a narrow-minded way and often pray in a self-centered way, mostly concerned with ourselves and what we want, but God doesn't work like that. He's always looking at the big picture, the master plan of how he can bring as many of His people back to Him as possible. We live in a fallen world full of sin and lots of bad things happen here, but God is God and only He can use the bad for good. We are so quick to question Him when "bad" things happen but God asks us to trust in Him when we do not understand because He always knows best. Ecclesiastes 11:15 tells us, "As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother's womb so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things." Know why? Because we aren't God and we aren't supposed to know. That's just how he designed us.
In our modern-day world full of advanced science and technology, we think we know everything. I'm not sure if that makes God laugh or cry, probably cry, because as a result we often think we don't need Him anymore. Oh but we do, perhaps more than ever! God knows all, we don't, and that's why he calls us to submit ourselves to Him and to trust His ways. John 13:7 is such a powerful reminder of this. "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing but later you will understand.'" Jesus was about to leave his disciples, about to die on the cross, and although they couldn't understand what the things He was saying about the Crucifixion and the Resurrection meant at the time, they would later. I think that's how God usually works. We don't understand why things happen the way they do at the time, but sometimes when we look back later we can see more clearly what God was doing. I admit that when Ben Sauer (a local 5-year-old boy) got sick with terminal cancer I didn't understand, but when I saw how his mother was using the experience as testimony to glorify God, I knew He was at work in it. Yet again though, when Ben took a turn for the worst and was knocking on death's door, I questioned His ways. "Why Lord?! I thought you were going to heal him. Everyone would know it was you. He's too young to die. Please Lord, heal him!" But I was wrong, trying to convince God and lead Him by the hand, and I shouldn't have questioned Him. God took Ben home to be with Him, eternally, in a place where there's no cancer, no pain, and no sin. What could be better?! And as a double bonus, he used Ben's life, and death, to bring so many people to Him. I watched the video of the funeral service and Pastor Jerry at The Chapel said that hundreds of souls had come to Christ the day he and Ben preached together after Ben got sick. Wow! Talk about purpose. God's purpose. We didn't like the way He did it, with Ben getting cancer and dying, but He knew what was best. We were concerned with ourselves and how Ben's sickness affected his family and those of us here on Earth but Ben wasn't. Ben said yes to God. God carried Him through his illness as he used it to further His kingdom here on Earth, and then He took Ben home. "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God (*ring any bells?!); it does not submit to God's law nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:5-8). Ben had Jesus in his heart, thanks to his God-loving parents, and he was willing to be used by God. How inspiring, at just five years old. Those without God in their hearts see only death and sadness as a result of Ben's cancer. They are hostile to God and his ways, as scripture says, but those of us who have accepted Christ into our hearts live with minds governed by the Spirit, minds that see how life and peace came out of this experience. Because Ben said yes to God, he is now at home with Him in Heaven, countless people have given their lives to Christ, the faith of thousands or maybe even millions has been bolstered by the words of Ben's mom Mindy, and even now, after his death, God is still doing His work through Ben's family, helping to heal many whose hearts have been hardened by grief and life's many trials. How amazing!
God did the same thing back when he led his people out of Egypt. He heard their cries and he answered, but there was plenty of time during which the slaves cried out to Him that it probably seemed as though He didn't hear. He was working on it, though, just like He's working on it when we cry out to Him. The thing is, we are only looking at ourselves and what we want whereas He is looking at the big picture and what He wants. AKA, what is best. He has a lot of people to think of and a lot of factors to consider when He answers our prayers, so results aren't always instantaneous. When I first started reading the story of Moses I thought about how God had to select a person to work through, which was Moses, and then appear to him and instruct him. But Moses didn't think he was the person for the job. That got me thinking about how often God wants to work through us and we say no. But the thing is, He wouldn't ask if He wasn't going to equip us with everything we need to do whatever it is. And honestly, for all we ask of Him, who are we to say no when He asks something of us?! From now on, I hope I'll think twice about this when I feel God calling me to do something that I might not want to. Once Moses said yes and went to Pharaoh, Pharaoh didn't believe what Moses said, so Moses showed him signs. Pharaoh's sorcerers could do similar things, however, so he didn't believe. Moreover, as a result of being annoyed by Moses, Pharaoh made the conditions worse for the Israelites. He made them go gather their own straw to make bricks, which took much longer, but kept the quota for each day the same. The Israelite overseers blasted Moses and Aaron saying, "The Lord look on you and judge you!" So far the plan to free the Israelites had backfired, or so it seemed. Moses returned to God and cried out to Him, asking why he brought this trouble on his people. "You have not rescued your people at all!" (Exodus 5:23).
Isn't this exactly what I did with Ben Sauer, and what so many of us do when God doesn't seem to work how we want or as fast as we want? God had heard the prayers of his people and had only just begun answering them when he got blasted for not answering them. Poor God! Isn't this how we treat him all the time? We are so quick to go to Him when we need something but often quicker to question and doubt Him, eager to take His help but slow to help Him in return. The thought of it, which I am so guilty of, makes me sad. God replied to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh and because of my mighty hand he will let them go." God wanted everyone - Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron, the Egyptians, and the Israelites - to know that it was Him who was at work, without a doubt, and that He alone is God. That happened through a process of performing signs, each one of which was necessary to bring full belief that it was God and nothing else, to place the fear of God into both Egyptian and Israelite hearts, to bring the Israelites back to Him, and to have His name glorified through the mighty tales of the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. These tales, which we still know and believe in today, reveal the miraculous power of God, but we wouldn't have them if God had simply softened Pharaoh's heart to let the Israelites go from day one.
You see, God's ways are not our ways and we often don't understand them at the time but they are always good. We don't have to question that. He always has a higher good and a greater purpose in mind than we do. We are selfish people, concerned with our own good more than the good of others, but Jesus came to Earth with a new command: "Love one another as I have loved you." And that doesn't just mean that we should be nice to one another, but that we should be willing to lay down our own lives for a brother or sister in need, just as Ben Sauer did for those brought to Christ by God's work in him. When we give our lives to God, we can't put limitations on it. That's not the way it works. We don't know what God will use us for ahead of time, but we don't have to be afraid of it. Because as he promises in Romans 8:28, "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called to his purpose." Ben Sauer and his family were called to God's purpose, my mom was called to his purpose, and I am humbled to say that I too have now been called to his purpose. I pray that I will do a better job of remembering that as I continue to walk down this path, no matter what bumps appear in the road, what trials I face, or when it seems as though God hasn't heard my cries. My job is not to lead God by the hand, as I so often try to do, but to let Him lead me, and to do my best to trust Him with every step. He is God, I am not, and that's all I really need to know.
Exodus 10:1-2: "Then the Lord said to Moses 'Go to Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them, that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them and that you may know that I am the Lord.'" There's the reason. God had to perform all of these signs (turning a scepter into a snake, water into blood, dust into gnats, etc.) to prove that it was really Him doing it, to prove that He alone is God, since we never believe and always doubt. God used the plagues to not only free the Israelites, but also to bring glory to His name by instilling the fear of God into the hearts of Pharaoh and all the Egyptians (as well as the Israelites). We always think and see things in a narrow-minded way and often pray in a self-centered way, mostly concerned with ourselves and what we want, but God doesn't work like that. He's always looking at the big picture, the master plan of how he can bring as many of His people back to Him as possible. We live in a fallen world full of sin and lots of bad things happen here, but God is God and only He can use the bad for good. We are so quick to question Him when "bad" things happen but God asks us to trust in Him when we do not understand because He always knows best. Ecclesiastes 11:15 tells us, "As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother's womb so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things." Know why? Because we aren't God and we aren't supposed to know. That's just how he designed us.
In our modern-day world full of advanced science and technology, we think we know everything. I'm not sure if that makes God laugh or cry, probably cry, because as a result we often think we don't need Him anymore. Oh but we do, perhaps more than ever! God knows all, we don't, and that's why he calls us to submit ourselves to Him and to trust His ways. John 13:7 is such a powerful reminder of this. "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing but later you will understand.'" Jesus was about to leave his disciples, about to die on the cross, and although they couldn't understand what the things He was saying about the Crucifixion and the Resurrection meant at the time, they would later. I think that's how God usually works. We don't understand why things happen the way they do at the time, but sometimes when we look back later we can see more clearly what God was doing. I admit that when Ben Sauer (a local 5-year-old boy) got sick with terminal cancer I didn't understand, but when I saw how his mother was using the experience as testimony to glorify God, I knew He was at work in it. Yet again though, when Ben took a turn for the worst and was knocking on death's door, I questioned His ways. "Why Lord?! I thought you were going to heal him. Everyone would know it was you. He's too young to die. Please Lord, heal him!" But I was wrong, trying to convince God and lead Him by the hand, and I shouldn't have questioned Him. God took Ben home to be with Him, eternally, in a place where there's no cancer, no pain, and no sin. What could be better?! And as a double bonus, he used Ben's life, and death, to bring so many people to Him. I watched the video of the funeral service and Pastor Jerry at The Chapel said that hundreds of souls had come to Christ the day he and Ben preached together after Ben got sick. Wow! Talk about purpose. God's purpose. We didn't like the way He did it, with Ben getting cancer and dying, but He knew what was best. We were concerned with ourselves and how Ben's sickness affected his family and those of us here on Earth but Ben wasn't. Ben said yes to God. God carried Him through his illness as he used it to further His kingdom here on Earth, and then He took Ben home. "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God (*ring any bells?!); it does not submit to God's law nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:5-8). Ben had Jesus in his heart, thanks to his God-loving parents, and he was willing to be used by God. How inspiring, at just five years old. Those without God in their hearts see only death and sadness as a result of Ben's cancer. They are hostile to God and his ways, as scripture says, but those of us who have accepted Christ into our hearts live with minds governed by the Spirit, minds that see how life and peace came out of this experience. Because Ben said yes to God, he is now at home with Him in Heaven, countless people have given their lives to Christ, the faith of thousands or maybe even millions has been bolstered by the words of Ben's mom Mindy, and even now, after his death, God is still doing His work through Ben's family, helping to heal many whose hearts have been hardened by grief and life's many trials. How amazing!
Ben (left) and his twin brother, Jack
God did the same thing back when he led his people out of Egypt. He heard their cries and he answered, but there was plenty of time during which the slaves cried out to Him that it probably seemed as though He didn't hear. He was working on it, though, just like He's working on it when we cry out to Him. The thing is, we are only looking at ourselves and what we want whereas He is looking at the big picture and what He wants. AKA, what is best. He has a lot of people to think of and a lot of factors to consider when He answers our prayers, so results aren't always instantaneous. When I first started reading the story of Moses I thought about how God had to select a person to work through, which was Moses, and then appear to him and instruct him. But Moses didn't think he was the person for the job. That got me thinking about how often God wants to work through us and we say no. But the thing is, He wouldn't ask if He wasn't going to equip us with everything we need to do whatever it is. And honestly, for all we ask of Him, who are we to say no when He asks something of us?! From now on, I hope I'll think twice about this when I feel God calling me to do something that I might not want to. Once Moses said yes and went to Pharaoh, Pharaoh didn't believe what Moses said, so Moses showed him signs. Pharaoh's sorcerers could do similar things, however, so he didn't believe. Moreover, as a result of being annoyed by Moses, Pharaoh made the conditions worse for the Israelites. He made them go gather their own straw to make bricks, which took much longer, but kept the quota for each day the same. The Israelite overseers blasted Moses and Aaron saying, "The Lord look on you and judge you!" So far the plan to free the Israelites had backfired, or so it seemed. Moses returned to God and cried out to Him, asking why he brought this trouble on his people. "You have not rescued your people at all!" (Exodus 5:23).
Isn't this exactly what I did with Ben Sauer, and what so many of us do when God doesn't seem to work how we want or as fast as we want? God had heard the prayers of his people and had only just begun answering them when he got blasted for not answering them. Poor God! Isn't this how we treat him all the time? We are so quick to go to Him when we need something but often quicker to question and doubt Him, eager to take His help but slow to help Him in return. The thought of it, which I am so guilty of, makes me sad. God replied to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh and because of my mighty hand he will let them go." God wanted everyone - Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron, the Egyptians, and the Israelites - to know that it was Him who was at work, without a doubt, and that He alone is God. That happened through a process of performing signs, each one of which was necessary to bring full belief that it was God and nothing else, to place the fear of God into both Egyptian and Israelite hearts, to bring the Israelites back to Him, and to have His name glorified through the mighty tales of the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. These tales, which we still know and believe in today, reveal the miraculous power of God, but we wouldn't have them if God had simply softened Pharaoh's heart to let the Israelites go from day one.
The parting of the Red Sea
You see, God's ways are not our ways and we often don't understand them at the time but they are always good. We don't have to question that. He always has a higher good and a greater purpose in mind than we do. We are selfish people, concerned with our own good more than the good of others, but Jesus came to Earth with a new command: "Love one another as I have loved you." And that doesn't just mean that we should be nice to one another, but that we should be willing to lay down our own lives for a brother or sister in need, just as Ben Sauer did for those brought to Christ by God's work in him. When we give our lives to God, we can't put limitations on it. That's not the way it works. We don't know what God will use us for ahead of time, but we don't have to be afraid of it. Because as he promises in Romans 8:28, "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called to his purpose." Ben Sauer and his family were called to God's purpose, my mom was called to his purpose, and I am humbled to say that I too have now been called to his purpose. I pray that I will do a better job of remembering that as I continue to walk down this path, no matter what bumps appear in the road, what trials I face, or when it seems as though God hasn't heard my cries. My job is not to lead God by the hand, as I so often try to do, but to let Him lead me, and to do my best to trust Him with every step. He is God, I am not, and that's all I really need to know.
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