Wrong Way, God
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither 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.”
—Is. 55:8-9
"Nice try, God. You almost got it right." I'm joking, right? Otherwise, that would be blasphemy, me correcting God because He didn't do something right. The thought of doing so is ridiculous. This is God. He is perfect, omniscient, holy in all His ways. I don't have a foot to stand on; and yet, I am guilty of doing just that, questioning God, and I imagine you are, too. Oh, not in so many words. I'm not stupid enough to come right out and tell God I know better than He does; but, I have often found myself questioning His ways, rejecting them outright and choosing to do what I wanted, what was most convenient, comfortable, or according to what I thought was best.
We all know the story of Job, how he lost everything when God let Satan have his way with him. He lost his wealth, his status, his family, and eventually his health. He was in terrible pain and suffering and, yet, he did not turn against God. Job, in spite of all that had taken place, continued to worship God. The Scripture tells us, "In all this, Job did not sin." The book of Job has inspired many, including myself, to see my momentary trials and difficulties from a different perspective, to endure those times and do my best to continue to trust God as Job did.
But, there is another perspective that I wish I could have all of the time. In what way did Job not sin? He didn't sin, "by charging God with wrongdoing." Job didn't just go along with it. He didn't just endure it and sing, "Que sera, sera, what will be, will be." Job didn't just shrug his shoulders and say, "Oh well, what choice do I have, anyway?" Job accepted what God was doing as right. He didn't question God's actions. We have the same example in Christ, who, when beaten, spit upon, and eventually crucified, “entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly (I Peter 2:23).”
I don't know about you, but I typically get frustrated, sometimes even discouraged, when things don't go the way I think they should; especially, if it results in my being uncomfortable. If I don't understand what God is doing, it bothers me. If He seems to be taking me in a different direction, I hesitate. Sometimes, I don't listen and do what I want to do instead. Whether I am saying it or not, I am challenging the God of whom David writes, "You are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge (Ps. 51:4)."
It doesn't usually occur to me, but what it comes down to is I don't trust God to always be right. When Job does question God, God asks Job, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?" Job's immediate response, "Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." Eventually, I may get around to admitting the same thing; but, I wish I could accept that God is right...all the time, not just when I agree with Him.
In the book, The Shack,14 the character portraying God (referred to as Papa) says, “You can have understanding or you can have God, but you can’t have both.” We won’t always understand God and His ways. However, there are two reassuring things David says we can know about God, “that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving (Ps. 62:11-12).”
God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We will not always understand why God does or doesn’t act in the way that we think He should. God could…but He doesn’t always choose to do things the way that we would prescribe. For us to challenge or question the ways of God is to judge God, to find fault in Him. In The Shack, Papa tells the father to give up being God’s judge and know God for who He is…”embrace His love (even) in your pain, instead of pushing Him away with your self-centered perception of how you think the universe should be.”
Look back on the story of your own life. Are there times when you find it difficult to understand or accept God’s ways? Ask God for understanding but if He doesn’t give you that, ask that He give you a peace about those particular times.
Which do you find most difficult to appreciate-that God is able or God is loving? There are times we need to acknowledge the sovereignty of God and be able to accept that we simply do not understand. Yet, we must believe both of these statements. In them rests our own security and our hope.
Ask God to help you to see the truth in both of these statements.
