HIS WAYS
First Published February 16, 2009
Romans 11:33
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
When I was little, my brother J.E. got a toy sheriff’s set. It included a sheriff’s star, a cowboy hat, a holster with a cap shooter, and a set of handcuffs. He liked to play the part of sheriff “arresting” my sisters and me, putting us in the cuffs and sending us to “jail.” On one particular day, my sister L.E. was still in the handcuffs and the key was lost. We yanked and pulled, but her wrists just got red and swollen. We tried to free her by using water and lotion to lubricate her wrists, but we were unsuccessful. Now her wrists were red swollen and slimy. Everyone was in a panic, but no one had the solution. We finally had to go into the house to tell Mom what happened.
She didn’t seem surprised by the predicament. (Maybe it was because she and her brothers and sister experienced similar adventures!) When asked what she was going to do, my mother replied, “Nothing, just wait.” My sister was in tears and my brother was outraged. Mom was going to do nothing and just allow L.E. to suffer in the handcuffs? She helped L.E. with her bath and eating dinner, but did nothing about the handcuffs.
It took us all a long time to fall asleep. Strange scenarios kept floating in my young mind. Would Dad have to use a saw to set L.E. free? Would she have to go to the hospital? Would she have to live forever with handcuffs on her wrists? There were so many questions with not enough answers. Or at least there were none that satisfied my brother, sister, and me.
We have all experienced moments when either by our own missteps or by chance we are in a tough predicament. We try all the conventional ways of solving our problem, while God is patiently trying to tell us to wait for his timing and his plan. In the mean time it’s really hard to understand God’s logic. So we tend to dismiss him from our decision-making. But as our verse says, we could be (and often are) clueless about God’s logic concerning solutions to our problems.
I sure didn’t understand my mother’s logic. When I awoke the next morning L.E. was also awake and the handcuffs were off, but she didn’t know how that came to be. J.E. was the one to ask Mom. “I waited until your sister was asleep and I guided her hand out.” Wow. That was simple, yet the three of us couldn’t have done it by ourselves.
That’s what we need to learn from the Bible. We will not understand God’s ways, but because his knowledge and wisdom is infinite, we can trust that he will guide us through our trials.
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Thank you Lord God for your scriptures that assure me that your ways are unfathomable. Your wisdom and knowledge surpasses my limited mind, thus I may put my trust in you to guide me through the tough times and predicaments in my life. Calm me Lord, that I may welcome your guidance and solution. Amen.
Copyright Karen Vaughn, 2009
Romans 11:33
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
When I was little, my brother J.E. got a toy sheriff’s set. It included a sheriff’s star, a cowboy hat, a holster with a cap shooter, and a set of handcuffs. He liked to play the part of sheriff “arresting” my sisters and me, putting us in the cuffs and sending us to “jail.” On one particular day, my sister L.E. was still in the handcuffs and the key was lost. We yanked and pulled, but her wrists just got red and swollen. We tried to free her by using water and lotion to lubricate her wrists, but we were unsuccessful. Now her wrists were red swollen and slimy. Everyone was in a panic, but no one had the solution. We finally had to go into the house to tell Mom what happened.
She didn’t seem surprised by the predicament. (Maybe it was because she and her brothers and sister experienced similar adventures!) When asked what she was going to do, my mother replied, “Nothing, just wait.” My sister was in tears and my brother was outraged. Mom was going to do nothing and just allow L.E. to suffer in the handcuffs? She helped L.E. with her bath and eating dinner, but did nothing about the handcuffs.
It took us all a long time to fall asleep. Strange scenarios kept floating in my young mind. Would Dad have to use a saw to set L.E. free? Would she have to go to the hospital? Would she have to live forever with handcuffs on her wrists? There were so many questions with not enough answers. Or at least there were none that satisfied my brother, sister, and me.
We have all experienced moments when either by our own missteps or by chance we are in a tough predicament. We try all the conventional ways of solving our problem, while God is patiently trying to tell us to wait for his timing and his plan. In the mean time it’s really hard to understand God’s logic. So we tend to dismiss him from our decision-making. But as our verse says, we could be (and often are) clueless about God’s logic concerning solutions to our problems.
I sure didn’t understand my mother’s logic. When I awoke the next morning L.E. was also awake and the handcuffs were off, but she didn’t know how that came to be. J.E. was the one to ask Mom. “I waited until your sister was asleep and I guided her hand out.” Wow. That was simple, yet the three of us couldn’t have done it by ourselves.
That’s what we need to learn from the Bible. We will not understand God’s ways, but because his knowledge and wisdom is infinite, we can trust that he will guide us through our trials.
**** ****
Thank you Lord God for your scriptures that assure me that your ways are unfathomable. Your wisdom and knowledge surpasses my limited mind, thus I may put my trust in you to guide me through the tough times and predicaments in my life. Calm me Lord, that I may welcome your guidance and solution. Amen.
Copyright Karen Vaughn, 2009
posted by Karen Vaughn | 8:10 AM
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