As a continuation of my last post (When God Had Front Row Seats To A Murder), I want to address God’s will in the lives of His people.
In that last article I mentioned that it sometimes hurts to be a worshiper of God. Life isn’t always daisies for a believer. Occasionally, its inconvenient, uncomfortable, painful, and as we saw with Stephen, God’s plan just might cost you your life.
And when that does happen, we Christians often tend to question and accuse the God who saved us. Isn’t that strange?
I mean, where was God when the Sanhedrin were picking up rocks to hurl at Stephen? Where was God when the witnesses were laying their coats at Saul’s feet? I’ll tell you where–God was still seated on the His throne. God is always in charge and nothing…and I mean nothing!…escapes His sovereign notice.
God alone pulls the strings of this universe.
Let’s be clear about something. God never caused the Council to sin, nor did He influence them to murder. God did, however, remove His hand of restraint for a time. This removal of restraint is what allowed the Council to be as utterly sinful as their wicked minds wanted to be. And their depraved minds certainly lusted for the sin of murder.
It was all happening according to plan. God permitted every detail. This was God’s will for Stephen’s life that fateful day.
I know that many Christians today probably have a major problem with this. But please notice, Stephen didn’t. He knew God is sovereign. Never once did he even consider shaking his fist toward the sky as he stared into the eyes of his beloved Savior. Neither should we. We need to be passionate disciples, not passive critics.
As you know, there are many things in the Bible that are difficult to understand. Some are just plain hard to swallow.
As the apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:16, there are “some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”
Yet it would be downright improper—no, outright sinful—to hide the truth about God’s holy character or describe Him in a way that is not in harmony with what the Word clearly teaches.
God is immensely merciful and more compassionate than we could ever begin to comprehend. But it is rather false prophet-like to consciously distort the holy character of God just so we can cling to the false idol of what we want God to be like. You might not like it. You might not understand it. But do yourself a favor and let God be God. There’s just not enough room on Heaven’s throne for both of you.
It was for this very reason that God said to Job’s friend, Eliphaz the Temanite,
“My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has” (Job 42:7; underline is mine).
After God commanded Job’s three foolish counselors to offer sacrifices and have Job pray for them, God then announced,
“For I will accept him [Job] so that I may not do to you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has” (Job 42:8; underline is mine).
If there was anyone on the face of the planet who ever had reason to blame God for his circumstances, it was Job. Even God Himself confessed to Satan that, regarding Job,
“there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8).
Even so, what did God allow the devil to do in order to manifest the quality of Job’s holy character? He allowed Satan to cause some ungodly foreigners to attack and plunder his oxen and donkeys, for lightning to fall from the sky and burn up his sheep and servants, for the Chaldean’s to steal his camels and slay his servants, and for a great wind to rise up and kill every one of his sons and daughters.
Yes, if anyone had a reason to question the integrity of God’s actions, it was Job.
But how did godly Job respond to such God-ordained atrocities?
“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and fell to the ground and worshipped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God” (Job 1:20; underline is mine).
Job didn’t raise his fist toward the clouds and curse God. Rather, he did what we all should be doing today—blessing the name of the LORD and worshiping God.
Yet even that wasn’t the extent of Job’s suffering. God had more in store for him to endure. In the very next chapter God and Satan, once again, had another conversation about Job. Satan said to God,
“put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face” (Job 2:5; underline is mine).
After God permitted Job’s body to be brutally injured with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, Job still maintained his integrity. While scraping his marred skin with a broken potsherd, Job’s wife told him to,
“Curse God and die! Yet he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:9-10; underline is mine).
Yes, there was good reason for God to proclaim of Job,
“there is no one like him [Job] on earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 2:3).
Beloved, it is only proper and good to be found speaking and teaching what is right concerning God and His holy character. We would do well to remember that God said,
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
* Image credit: Marian Trinidad (Creation Swap)
Steven and Job believed in God and knew that he was on their side. What ever they were going through they knew that God would help them get through it. It’s great to know that today that same God is willing and waiting to help us.
Exactly, Frankie! God is always there. More often than not, God steers danger, trials, etc. away from us. But occasionally He wants us to go through it. And when He does, He’s right there with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us.
Yes very good question how we respond to God when he will make somethings dfferents from life in our deeds with desire to be blessing and voice of God in the Holy Spirit and our will be not upfild, but will God are always best and great favor following that decision with clear mind to understanding of purpose of God,thanks and bless and pray,keijo sweden