Hebrews 2:5-9
God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. It says in Scripture,
What is man and woman that you bother with them;
why take a second look their way?
You made them not quite as high as angels,
bright with Eden’s dawn light;
Then you put them in charge
of your entire handcrafted world.
When God put them in charge of everything, nothing was excluded. But we don’t see it yet, don’t see everything under human jurisdiction. What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
I recently shared in another devotional about the sudden death of a young friend… the son of a childhood classmate. Today, I visited the family and expressed my sadness over this tragic accident. I shared with my friend how I have prayed for his son for many years, and that this was not the answer I was anticipating. But I quickly added that I am learning that very often I don’t get my way in these matters. God answers… just not as I suggested!
I’ve been reading back through prayer journals in recent days, and I’ve seen several examples of answered prayers that had outcomes far different from what I expected. Still, God answered. And I must respect His sovereignty…and His decisions. In some of these instances, I could see where the answer God gave was not only different… but better. Others puzzle me to this day. And in others, I noticed that even a decade or more later, I am still praying over the same people and/or situation. And I had to wonder… do I need to shift the focus of my prayers? Am I truly praying for God’s will and respecting His plans… or am I still asking for my way in these matters – and essentially blocking any forward progress whatsoever.
Lest you think I overestimate the power of my own prayers, let me quickly add that I have the utmost respect for God’s ability to operate independently – or in spite of – my intercessions. Still, I wonder how often we fail to recognize that an unexpected death might have been God’s way of sparing someone further difficulties. How often does God say to us, “I know what you want me to do… but that will not accomplish what needs to happen in the grander scheme of things.”? Have we missed the point that God is trying to make? When it seems that God will never answer, are we disrespecting His timing with our impatience?
Scripture tells us that there were many who questioned God’s decision to send Jesus to earth as a human being. After all, we read in Psalm 8:4-8, where David says to God…“Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden’s dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.” He speaks of how unworthy humans are to make wise decisions and be in charge of much of anything… yet God did exactly this when He created Adam and Eve… and then He sent Jesus as a human being with the ability to heal the sick, turn water into wine, feed thousands with a basketful of food, and much more.
Not until Jesus died for our sins on the cross did we see the full spectrum of God’s plan. Only in the resurrection of Jesus after His crucifixion did we learn that He was so much more than a mere mortal. Only then did God fully reveal the total perfection of His plans. Only in this sacrifice do we see how much God loves us… and deserves our utmost respect.
I wish I could say I will never ask God “Why?”… or plead with Him to hurry up and fix something or someone. Like those in David’s Psalm… I am human. But I will do my best to be more cognizant of the intent of my prayers. I will strive to show complete respect for God’s will and His authority… to trust His outcomes more deeply, and to rest in His decisions. Someday, I may see how this all comes together perfectly. But by then, I will be in heaven with Jesus…and I seriously doubt I will care about the “hows and whys”! Meanwhile, I will keep praying… I will keep believing… and I will trust God to answer perfectly. What about you?
©2013 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment