Friday, August 25, 2017
WHAT'S HE DOING?
Every time I weave around and through a construction site's traffic cones, the same thought runs through my mind: "What are they doing?" Or in translation: "They have no idea what they're doing. I know better." Of course, that's unfair. I haven't kept up with the Department of Transportation's master plan. I have zero experience in road construction and traffic management. I just jump to the conclusion that because it doesn't make sense to me and is an inconvenience, it must be wrong.
Don't we often react the same way toward God's working in our lives? He promises, "I know the plans I have for you ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). He has wonderfully worked out our salvation and given us eternal life through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). What greater proof could there be of God's loving purposes?
Yet when it comes to His direction of our daily lives, we end up thinking, "What's He doing?" We imagine we know a better route, one with fewer bumps, hills, and construction slowdowns. When the Lord leads us in a different direction than we envision, we complain and become discouraged. Do you ever leave Him behind to go your own way? But who are we to question God, the One who sees the end before the beginning, who has given us life, who loves us with an everlasting love, and who has made us His children in Christ that we might inherit heaven?
Let's go to the cross in repentance for our questioning of the Lord's direction and the complaining that goes along with it. Let's rejoice in His mercy and forgiveness, trust that He will fill our lives with His blessings, and then with renewed confidence gladly follow Him. May we echo the prayer of David: "Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth" (Psalm 25:4-5).
