If you live in northeast Texas these days, things can seem a little chaotic. The rain appears almost to have no end. The wind is breaking trees and the power has been going off and on. The world around us seems a little chaotic. In this area, the weather is causing all kinds of delays for things like cutting hay and other agricultural work. With our lives being disrupted, it can seem like there is no rime or reason for all of this. I think this demonstrates something important about us. We tend to make everything about us. When things do not go according to our plans or our understanding, we get upset. We forget that the Lord has created the world and all things happen according to his plan. Proverbs again has a good reminder for us.
By Wisdom
Proverbs 3:19 tells us, "The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding he established the heavens." In this short verse, we read something important. When God created the heavens and the earth, he did so according to his nature. He has all knowledge and wisdom. The other side of that equation is that we do not have all those things. Yes, we have some knowledge and some wisdom. As I write this, SpaceX has just launched the fourth test flight of the Starship. It takes quite a bit of knowledge and wisdom to be able to accomplish the launch. It was amazing to watch the accomplishments of SpaceX as the largest man-made object to take flight and splash back into the ocean. What is sad is that we look at that and are amazed, but look a the way the rain comes and the clouds form and gripe about how our plans are messed up. We must remind ourselves that we do not have all the answers. We are not the wisest of beings. It would be worth taking the time to think about Job.
The Lord Questions Job
The story of Job in scripture is one of pain and suffering. Job is subjected to pain that the vast majority of people will never have to face. In a single day, he loses the vast majority of his wealth and worldly possessions as well as his children. Raiders come through and steal all his animals and a little later the house where all his kids are hanging out together is destroyed. If that wasn't enough, after all that he comes down with an incredibly painful disease. The result of all this is that Job is left with a lot of questions. The end of the book of Job sees the Lord coming down to talk to Job. Rather than answering Job's questions, the Lord asks Job a series of questions that drive home the point that we do not have the knowledge or wisdom to judge what is going on. For example, in Job 38:25 the Lord asks, "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt." In short, we cannot even comprehend why the rain happens the way that it does, why should we think that we have the right to judge the things of God?
Rest In His Wisdom
Proverbs is a reminder to us that everything that goes on around us happens according to the plan of the Lord. He has created the world in wisdom and knowledge and he continues in his providence to work all things according to his will. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that God works all things for the good of those who have been called according to his purpose. That means that everything, including the ongoing rain, is part of how God is working things out for the good of his people. This should be a great comfort to us. We can do the things he has called us to do, and trust that he will use us and our work for the good of his people.
Rest in Christ
The whole story of scripture is there to teach us how God is bringing us from sin to redemption. It is the story of Christ. He has come to save his people from their sins. If we trust in Christ and believe the gospel, why should we worry about little things like the rain? When we look at how God has worked out all the things that happen in the gospel accounts, we should be able to see that that same God is still at work. He has created the world in wisdom and he continues to work all things according to his wise and good plan.
Soli Deo Gloria
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