Jesus In Control Of His Destiny

 Jesus is said to have "set his face toward Jerusalem." He knew that He was born to die! His destiny was in His own hands as revealed by His Father. There was no turning back, even at the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed in relinquishment: "Thy will be done." There could be no conflict of interest or of wills within the Godhead. He boldly proclaimed His "fate": "That everything written of Him must be fulfilled."  Remember, Jesus volunteered to go to the cross and accept His Passion on our behalf! 

The fickle crowds (four days latter the shouted to crucify Him) did try to crown Him king at His triumphal entry and He did say that it was now His time, but He must be crucified first and He knew this--having prophesied it five times. He had said, "No prophet can die outside Jerusalem."  But He refused to stop the adorations and acclamations of the crowd and said that if they were restrained, the stones would cry out! 

Throughout His ministry, "Mum's the word so to speak," but now they vociferously shouted Hosanna to the Son of David!" This was prophecy and that blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.  Jesus literally allowed them to throw His hat in the ring: for one doesn't become King by mere announcement!  There's protocol and tradition. He was not using figures of speech or a play on words and didn't beat around the bush anymore! 

We must realize a few points about Christ's fate: this was not karma (Jesus was innocent and didn't deserve this fate as a karma--which exact reward/punishment for deeds); nor was Jesus the victim of circumstances; nor was He intending to set us a good example; nor was He intending to become another religious martyr; or even champion a good moral cause to be remembered. In fact, Jesus was in full control all the time and this was Providence, which is God's answer to happenstance or coincidence. 

Do All Things Occur As God Plans?

 Some Christians don't believe that God's will is always done.  They believe they can frustrate God and defy His will. It is true we can break God's laws and not obey Him, but this is known as the preceptive will of God or that will revealed to us. But there is another way to look at God's will: the secret, decreed, and ultimate will of God that we do not know till it happens. God is known for orchestrating history as He wills to glorify Himself per Eph. 1:11 where it says God works all things in conformity with His will. That means God is sovereign, and if He is not Lord of all, He cannot be Lord at all. There can be no  maverick molecule in the cosmos.  No  grain of sand outside His will. It was one grain of sand in Oliver Cromwell's kidney that stopped a war! God was working!  Job said we cannot frustrate or thwart God's will in Job  42:2. 

Some believers think that when bad things happen, they cannot be God's will or when men sin that God didn't decree to allow it to happen or  even direct it into being. The crucifixion is the most wicked event in history perpetrated by man and Acts 4:28 says that it went according to God's predestined plan and will. Now, when God says not to steal and I do anyway, I am breaking God's Law and preceptive will. But God may allow it to happen for He intends good out of evil. As Joseph said to his brothers, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." Gen. 50:20  John Wycliffe, first translator of the Bible into English, made the famed dictum: "All things come to pass of necessity." 

That means God has a  purpose for everything happening and God even has a purpose for allowing evil according to Prov. 16:4. God is the Potter and we are the clay; we cannot complain to the Maker why we are made so. Some people are vessels of honor and some of dishonor, but all serve God's higher purpose. God used Judas to do the dirty work of betraying Jesus, yet Judas did it completely of his own initiative without God  impelling or compelling him. Judas went as it was written of him.... 

We pray that God's will be done and this means on earth as it is in heaven, to be done willfully and cheerfully from the heat and not forced to do it. God is stronger than our wills as Jeremiah found out in Jer. 20:7 when he said that God had overpowered him and he felt defeated by God who prevailed.  We know "that a man's way is not his sown; no one who walks determines hi sown steps." Jer. 10:23 and "A mans steps are determined by the LORD so how can anyone understand hi sown way?" Prov. 20:24 and "A man's heart plans his way but the LORD determines his steps." Prov. 16:9 We are not fully in control of our lives; even the king's heart is controlled by God as He controls a river's course per Prov. 21:1 and in Prov. 16:33 it says God controls the toss of the dice.  Soli Deo Gloria!

How About Providence And Destiny?

 

1. “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.” (cf. Prov. 16:9)
2. “I know, LORD, that a man’s way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps.” (cf. Jer. 10:23).
3. “A man’s steps are determined by the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?” (cf. Prov. 20:24).
4. “He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me, and He has many more things like this in mind.” (cf. Job 23:14).

HCSB version.

God cannot be frustrated in His plan; He has no Plan B. (cf. Job 42:2). Our free will doesn’t limit His sovereignty. He is in control and Lord of all. We do make choices but God determines the conditions, and what choices we must make—whether between A or B. There are no other opportunities but what He grants. We must choose to serve God because the default god is Satan—we will serve someone or something.  Soli Deo Gloria!

God's Answer To Superstition

In antiquity, the Jews held physicians in low esteem as a rule, despite the Hippocratic oath because they resorted to the superstitious nature of man.  Superstition is a form of unbelief and is an attempt to attribute the work of God to something mechanical like fate or happenstance.  God is the God of Providence, fully in control of the situation at hand bringing all to His glory (cf. Rom. 11:36; Eph. 1:11).

Usually, when people were desperate they went to the physicians for some cure, if they could afford it, and it was expensive because sometimes they used herbs and spices that were rare to come by. Lepers were considered ceremonially unclean according to Rabbinic Law, but Jesus was willing to become Mr. Unclean personified for our sake to identify with our disease of sin and heal us, as well as forgive us--giving us power over it, so we aren't its slave anymore.

Jesus didn't want to be primarily known as just a divine healer or worker of miracles, but as the Savior, the Christ! Myrrh, for instance, was like the snake oil of antiquity, or the cure-all and panacea, pedaled for almost any ailment and this is one superstition that the charlatans were known for--but Jesus was for real and worthy of our faith, for He bore our illness and with His stripes, we are healed (cf. Is. 53).   

There are Christians today who don't pray, except as last resort, and even pagans will pray in superstition or for "good luck."  But luck, chance, and fortune have no place in the Christian faith.  God is in control of all, even the throw of the die (cf. Prov. 16:33).  What's so hypocritical, is that even when unbelievers pray and their prayers are answered, they find some reason to chalk it up to luck or chance and not give God the glory for answering the prayer.  We blame God for all tragedies and give ourselves all the credit for our fortune (cf. Prov. 19:3).

The woman with the hemorrhage was also "unclean" and when she "touched" Jesus, He became ceremonially unclean, but Jesus wasn't concerned with Himself, but with her frame of mind, faith and salvation and in Mark 5:21ff had become broke because of the expense of paying the physicians to heal her, but no avail.  As a last resort, she must have heard of Jesus' healing powers and sought Him out and "touched" Him in faith thinking that would heal her.  Jesus made it clear to her after the fact that it wasn't superstition that healed her, but her faith in Him.  He is the healer.

If superstition was the answer, anyone who touched Jesus would be healed, even without faith.  It is said that athletes are the most superstitious of people and even their fans can be, thinking that wearing team logos brings their favorite team good fortune or "luck." They don't want to "jinx" their team--Go, Twins! Knock on wood (saying this tongue-in-cheek)!  To have the Christian worldview, we ought to say that we are blessed and not lucky!

But Ecclesiastes says that luck and chance happen to all, it's part of our reality, how we interpret things, not how God sees them.  We ought to get over the notion that God deliberately takes sides in a game though or that winning is everything, and it's not a matter of skill and sportsmanship--blessings are showered on all, for God is good to everyone! (cf. Psalm 145:9).

This aforementioned woman's healing shows us that we all need to confess our faith to make it confirmed and not to be ashamed of our Lord and that He is part of us and lives in us. We must not keep our faith or healing privatized!   She reached out in faith the best she knew and this is all God asks:  take that leap of faith toward Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, don't just be glad He heals others--make the healing yours!  We are all unclean before salvation and need to come to Jesus for our healing and reinstatement.

The woman found out that she didn't "interrupt" Jesus but He mattered to her (we all do!)--He is never too busy for us (a good lesson on priorities for us all!).  There are no distractions to Jesus' agenda and in God's economy, we all matter the same, since God doesn't show favoritism or partiality--He's no respecter of persons (cf. Rom. 2:11; Acts 10:34).  Jesus always has time for us and is never in a hurry (neither late nor early but always on His timetable) so much that He would feel an interruption like the disciples thought. They were the ones who needed their priorities altered, realigned, and readjusted to God's timetable and agenda: Guess who needs an attitude check!

We all need to come to Jesus in faith to be made clean and healed of our sin, realizing we matter to God as individuals and expect a miracle in faith, in effect making contact with Jesus and touching Him or connecting to Him.  Jesus is never too busy!  He is ready to give us His undivided attention!  People are too ready to superstitiously attribute their salvation to"walking the aisle" or "raising their hand" or "coming to the altar," but we must realize that it's faith in Christ saves, not faith in faith, faith doesn't save, Christ saves!

In conclusion, when you have a strong faith you're less likely to "knock on wood" or worry about "black cats," or anything superstitious like the "full moon" or "Friday the thirteenth!"   Salvation is a form of freedom from the tyranny of ourselves to have our full faith in God.      Soli Deo Gloria!

Does It Seem Like A Lost Cause?

"You start by standing up for what you believe, then you go out there and fight for it!" --Sen. Elizabeth Warren
"... Our God will fight for us" (Neh. 4:20, ESV).
"'Do not be afraid of them.  Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes" (Neh. 4:14, ESV). 

St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, is the supposed patron saint, or champion, of lost causes in the Roman Catholic Church.  Everyone must have a go-to person for aid in time of need when the chips are down and one needs to grin and bear it. Not that we face life like fate with a stiff upper lip, but with faith in Providence.  We are to keep on praying and not to give up despite the circumstances because discouragement is actually a sin.   This is where the church body comes in:  We comfort those with the comfort we have received (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4) and be there for them just like the Holy Spirit is with us (i.e., He is called the Paraclete or "One called alongside").

When we get focused on the here and now instead of the heavenly vision it can seem hopeless at times; however, we're never in a no-win situation with God as our Pilot!  That's how we get depressed:  not correctly interpreting time by worrying about the future and regretting the past--two great time wasters.    But we are to live in light of eternity though and each day one at a time, not being remiss or slack in our duty, but trusting in Providence to meet all our needs and to guide us in God's will.  When we live for something bigger than ourselves, our whole perspective on life changes and is an inspiration to others.

God wants us to engage in spiritual warfare against spiritual wickedness using the armor of Christ.  We fight Satan's territory in protesting injustice, standing up for righteousness, and being appalled by sin in any form.  We are literally marching as to war, singing "Onward, Christian Soldiers!" on Sunday and must not go AWOL the next day!   Our victory is sure because the battle is the Lord's and we are fighting from victory, not for a victory--Christ already won and our battles are but a win-win in the name of Christ.  All victory comes from God and He must get the glory or credit not us.

We will be rewarded for our battles in the kingdom of God or what may be a hardship tour of duty with the Lord at the helm.  It is always our duty to fight with all we have, i.e., our whole being, but to pray also with all our being.  You could say we work as if it depends on us, but pray as if it depends on God.  We must be honored to be God's standard bearers or the ones carrying the Lord's flag into battle for Him. The flag we bear is the one for the kingdom of heaven and we must be reassured God will fight for us as we maintain our allegiance to Him. We march to victory in Christ's name and claim the beachhead in His name, taking Satan's turf away from him.  Yes, we engage in the enemy-occupied territory and must be prepared to meet the enemy in his domain on his terms.  We only can have the right attitude in fighting if we are oriented towards serving, obeying, and trusting the Lord.  We are not here to usher in the Millennial Kingdom in a visible sense like establishing a utopia, and don't see the government as a means to advance the agenda of God, but in being a light in a dark place, a city on a hill.

What this is to us in the application is that we are proud to serve in God's kingdom and to represent Jesus to the world in their need.  We must always be ready to stand up for Jesus, to fly our Christian colors, and to be God's ambassadors in the world at large.  We should never be afraid to stand alone or to suffer for the Name, which is an honor!   Jesus is our standard bearer, who will never be a casualty, carrying the flag on ahead of us into battle with pride and we must believe that He will always be there in Spirit representing our assured victory. What is our flag but our symbol of bravery and courage in the name of Christ and it represents all we fight for:  our ideals and dreams in Christ.  It should be our inspiration to bravery and victory as it will forever wave and never cease to fly to the glory of God. Never cease to fly our Christian colors! 

In sum, the positive thinker sees opportunity in any difficulty and believes there are no hopeless situations, only those who've given up hope.     Soli Deo Gloria!

God Works In Mysterious Ways

"God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb. 2:4, NIV).
"Do you know the laws of the universe?   Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands"  (Psalm 78:7, NLT).  
"For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.  You alone are God" (Psa. 86:10, NLT).
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not:  the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me"  (John 10:25, KJV). 
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" (John 10:37, KJV).  

NOTE:  IT IS SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GO BAD, BELIEVERS SAY, "GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS," AND WHEN THINGS GO GOOD, GOD IS BLESSING THEM.  MAN GIVES HIMSELF GLORY FOR HIS SUCCESS BUT BLAMES GOD FOR HIS FAILURES (CF. PROV. 19:3).

"God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform," according to William Cowper's hymn (cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT).  Even in the days of Job's trials, he says, "He does great things too marvelous to understand.  He performs countless miracles."  (9:10, NLT).  Note he said "countless miracles."  Was Job naive or did he actually witness miracles?  Even in the days of Moses, the magicians recognized the "finger of God" at work.  The people of the Bible cannot be portrayed as naive, credulous, ignorant, or superstitious.  They knew when God was performing a miracle because they were observers of nature and recognized God at work.  For instance, when the blind man was healed, they said no one had ever healed a man born blind!

If God's miracles were everyday events, we'd call them "regulars." All events are caused by God, the Causa Prima or primary mover of all creation--He is the so-called First Cause, and  the existence of motion itself proves there is a God, because one has to wonder when did the first act of motion happen, since the law of inertia says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest---it doesn't happen by itself but must be set in motion! 

Jesus didn't want to be known primarily as a miracle or wonder-worker but came to be our Savior.  His miracles were but signs to illustrate a teaching point about His Deity or out of compassion, not for show or personal gain, prestige, or money. He never did a biggie miracle to convince the unwilling, nor miracles on-demand or special request.  That's because miracles only produce the desire for more miracles and miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles!  Proof of this is when Jesus said in John 12:37, NIV,  that "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." Note they "would not" not "could not!"  The psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 78:32, NIV, that: "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe."

And so God causes everything (we are the secondary agents) and miracles are but unusual events caused by God.  Have you ever wondered how an immaterial thing such as a thought can affect material things such as a muscle?  What causes our motion?  If you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or behold a sunset! Scientists will tell you that miracles are against the laws of nature, but if there are laws, there must be a Lawmaker who can override His own law!  By definition, God is not bound by His own laws of nature!  Science then cannot forbid miracles, for God is not tangible, visible, or audible and you cannot repeat, measure, observe, or put Him in a test tube or have laboratory conditions to study--He's outside the province of scientific endeavor.      Soli Deo Gloria!

The Unfolding Of History...

"This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:27, NIV).
"LORD, I know that people's lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps" (Jer. 10:23, NIV).
"'...Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen'" (Isa. 14:24, NIV).
"The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples" (Ps. 33:10, NIV).
"If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us. But passion and party blind our eyes...." --Samuel Taylor Coleridge

There are no accidents of history which is dependent upon impersonal, non-existent forces, such as fortune, fate, or luck! Don't sing, "Que sera, sera, what will be, will be!" Providence is God's answer to happenstance!

History is a story by a grand Storyteller, the great Orchestrator of History itself, God, which means it has a direction, meaning, and a conclusion or consummation; we ignore it at our peril!


The ancients believed in a cyclical historical narrative, whereby history repeated itself; however, Mark Twain said that history doesn't repeat itself, it only rhymes! The only thing we learn from history, it is said, is that we don't learn from history; that is probably why Henry Ford proclaimed history as "bunk." The Bible is the final arbiter of truth and what is "bunk," though. The communist ideology justifies itself and its dialectic materialism by positing history as the judge. Some religions, on the other hand, see karma as the inevitable judge of mankind, from which we cannot escape.


Do nations that unjustly go to war, to wage unjust wars reap what they sow, is there bad karma for them? It seems like the good guys don't always win and justice comes out the loser if one observes history, yet God orchestrates all history, and history is simply "His story." We have to acknowledge that we don't always see what God is up to in His world, as He micromanages it to the minutiae--there is indeed not one maverick molecule out of His control.


Karl Marx said something interesting about history: The point is not to interpret it, but to change it! I believe one of the biggest problems we have in our nation is its lack of familiarity with American and even world history. If we don't learn some basic lessons, we are doomed to repeat history. The Bible teaches a linear approach to interpret history, that it doesn't go in cycles but is heading toward a climactic event or consummation (the Second Coming of Christ). Scientists deny any supernatural intervention in history, such as the Deluge, and this is called the uniformitarian view of history--this is because they want to make the earth out to be billions of years old and this view supports their old-earth hypothesis.


History can be summed up according to biblical interpretation: Creation, fall, redemption, judgment! History and time had a beginning at creation and Secular Humanists can't adjust their worldview to include this approach, but hold to an eternal universe (such a theory is untenable in view of scientific evidence of a Big Bang). The point is that, if there was a beginning (Big Bang), there had to be a Beginner or one who pulled the trigger! Nothing just happens by itself! We must learn the lessons of history, and Christianity is the only faith and worldview that is based on history and has evidence to back it up.


In the final analysis, we don't know the future, but we know who holds the future! This doctrine is sometimes referred to as Providence and we must learn to not second-guess God. Certainly, as Ben Franklin observed: "I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more I realize that God governs in the affairs of men." God has no back-up plan nor a Plan B, and His will cannot be frustrated by us, as we cannot thwart Him (cf. Job 42:2). 

History is something we really don't understand and cannot fathom, until after the fact, when we can see more objectively what God is doing in the affairs of men; therefore to conjecture about the future or to make prognostications is out of our realm of competency, since we don't have a crystal ball that works--it's God's dominion--we trust God for the future, and must realize that our future or (times) is in His hands (cf. Psalm 31:15).


In sum, consider the following verses (Psalm 22:28 (NIV); Job 36:23 (HCSB); and Daniel 4:35, NIV): "[F]or dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations," "Who has appointed His way for Him, and who has declared, 'You have done wrong'?" "...No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have you done?'" Soli Deo Gloria!

Giving Too Much Credit To Providence

"I have lived a long time and the longer I live the more I see that God governs in the affairs of men." (Benjamin Franklin).  

We should attribute everything that happens in the world to Providence; however, this is to say that God is always completely sovereign.  He rules the nations, which are but a drop in the bucket and is in control over every last atom in the cosmos--there are no rebellious, maverick molecules!  God is in control of all things small and great and His sovereignty isn't limited by our freedom!  But technically speaking, Providence refers not only to the guidance of the believer's life but the governing, concurrence, and sustaining of creation, election refers to his sovereign salvation and predestination refers to the way God manipulates his salvation to bring him to faith and repentance.

The unbeliever cannot claim God's blessings is guiding him to victory.  God does indeed step into history and intervene; He's not just a spectator or onlooker either!  He is actively involved and nothing is too small to overlook or too great to overpower Him.  To be sovereign you have to be almighty and omniscient.  It would be pathetic if God were all-wise and had not the power to bring about His purposes, and it would be horrific if He were all-powerful and not wise enough to implement it according to a good end.  But we can be assured that God is good and will accomplish His purposes in the end.  It's just like Aslan the lion, in The Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis), (a type of Christ) who said, "'Course, [He] isn't safe," said, Mr. Beaver.  "But [H]e's good...."

The danger we face today is some religious zealots are about to claim that our president was elected by a special act of blessing or Providence!  Would they go so far as to say that Clinton was also elected by Providence, even Obama?  As a matter of fact, God does raise men up: to punish as well as to bless!  But no, they want to single out one president and make him the object of special anointing to save our nation as God's man for president, not king.

I do believe God put President Trump in office for a purpose and according to God's wisdom, but that doesn't mean he's a messiah figure or on a special mission from God! In his case, we should concur that the jury is still out and history will judge: we cannot know whether he's on the right side of it or not!  People who make claims like this don't see the big picture and don't realize that a complete reversal could happen next election and that history may judge our president in a different light that we don't see now.

In the final analysis, Providence is God's answer to happenstance and we must realize that everything from the tossing of the die to the king's heart is in God's control and we must deny the possibility of blind fate, dumb luck, and blind fortune!  There are no impersonal forces at play!  Yes, we can say with faith that we will let the chips fall where they may and that God is in control!   Nothing can happen without God's permission and we have peace when the chips are down and through thick and thin!  What we see taking place is that God clearly orchestrates all history and it will be culminated in a conclusion according to His design, plan, and intentions.    NB:  Wycliffe's tenet is a word to the wise:  "All things come to pass by necessity."    Soli Deo Gloria!

God Has No Plan B

"'Have you not heard?  Long ago I ordained it.  In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass,.." (Isaiah 37:26, NIV; cf. 2 Kgs. 19:25).  
"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD" (Prov. 21:30, NIV).  
"The LORD has made everything for its purpose..." (Prov. 16:4, ESV).
"God doesn't play dice with the universe." --Einstein

Actually, God has no Plan A either!  We should ascribe to God the only Plan that is decreed, His Plan and since it will be fulfilled and God cannot fail, be thwarted, nor be frustrated, We don't call it Plan A, but simply God's Plan.  Job 42:2 says no plan of God can be thwarted!  THERE'S NO PLAN B OR BACKUP PLAN!   "The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand' (Isaiah 14:24, NIV).  He further says, "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27, NIV).  Providence is in play and John Wycliffe was right on in his famous tenet:  "All things come to pass of necessity."

As believers, we must realize that God is working all things for our good and turns curses into blessings and the evil one cannot touch us.  We must exercise an act of faith and realize that God does work in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform and that He is ultimately and always in control, both now and forever.  We should be in awe as God even causes "the wrath of man to praise Him!" (Cf. Psalm 76:10).  And our enemies may intend evil, but God works it out for the good and means to bless us in the long term.  The problem is that we don't see the big picture and are near-sighted spiritually.  Short-term evil can result in long-term good.  In fact, Wilhelm Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz saw this world as "the best of all possible worlds."  John Wycliffe would concur: "All things come to pas of necessity."

We must get on board with God to get the best will for our lives and for Him to bless us and that we don't have to settle or end up with second best.  God's will is done cheerfully and cooperatively in heaven and we are to pray for this on earth, according to the Lord's prayer.  In fact, His Plan will be accomplished with or without our cooperation!  God doesn't need us to do His Plan as if He needed anyone!  We have the privilege to participate in His blessings and provision, cooperating with Providence and proving God's good, pleasing, and perfect will (cf. Rom. 12:2). As believers, we ought to be committed to God's Plan and seeking to fulfill it at every opportunity and open door.  If we don't seek God's Plan or best for our life, God may say to us: "Okay, have it your way!" Then we will be in a state of disobedience.

In sum, God is not haphazard or arbitrary but has an intricate plan (life is no fluke!), of which we have the privilege to become partakers of in bringing Him glory as The Westminster Shorter Catechism states our purpose to be: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."      Soli Deo Gloria!

Second-guessing God...

"But the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay.  ... I will fulfill whatever I say,  ...." (cf. Ezek. 12:25, NIV).  "'But have you not heard?  I decided this long ago.  Long ago I planned it, and now I am making it happen..." (Isaiah 37:26, cf. 2 Kings 19:25, NLT).  God is no spectator in man's affairs, but, as the Westminster divines wrote, He:  "...doth uphold, direct, dispose and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence...." "No one can tell him what to do, or say to him, 'You have done wrong'"(Job 36:23, NLT).  "... Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (cf. Job 9:12, NIV). 

God doesn't owe us an explanation for His sovereignty.  Even if God were to explain Himself, He is too deep for us to understand.  God is all-wise and knows best and also good.   God is not accountable to us, but we are to Him!  If God were comprehensible, He wouldn't be worthy of worship and not infinite. This is the profundity of God--there's always more to Him than we apprehend; He boggles the mind!  We cannot ever put God in a box and limit Him to our dimensions--obviously, He lives outside our four dimensions, since He created all four.  Martin Luther wrote Erasmus:  "Your thoughts of God are too human!" Our God is not too small for us!  How big is your God?  Even the dimension of time is a corollary of space and matter, for God created the time-space continuum (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9, Titus 1:2; Gen. 1:1).

"...' It will all happen as I have planned.  It will be as I have decided ... who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?'" (Isaiah 14:24, 27, NLT).  No one can challenge Him as to what He is doing (Job 9:12, NLT, says, "...Who dares to ask, 'What are you doing?'"). Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:35, NLT) concluded:  "...No one can stop him or say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things?'" God has no Plan B or contingency exit strategy and cannot fail!  That is where faith comes in:  We must accept the fact that He knows best and will bring about what is good for us in His will.  We will not understand everything and we are not to get curious and inquire into things that are out of our realm and domain:  Deut. 29:29, ESV, says, "'The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us...."  His decreed, hidden, secret, or sovereign will is none of our business!

We must be careful not to put God in a box or make Him one-dimensional or limited to our specs. We must not be guilty of labeling Him either.  When we fail to appreciate His sovereignty and think God owes us anything, we are limiting Him.  Certain things defy explanation and we must realize that humans are limited and that "the finite cannot contain [or grasp] the infinite" (Finitum non capax Infinitum).  God is not the kind Grandfather who'll let boys be boys!  He intervenes in the affairs of men and directs our activities.  Jer. 10:23, NLT, says,  "I know LORD, that our lives are not our own.  We are not able to plan our own course. Prov. 20:24, NLT, says, The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?"  Prov. 16:9, NLT, says, "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."

A prayer is an act of faith, putting it into practice, and entrusting everything to God's sovereignty: We must pray as if everything depends on God, but work as if everything depends on us, as they say. Consequently, we must live like God is in charge and we have accepted this as fact and reality so that we are never in rebellion or opposition to His perfect will.  We don't have the power to frustrate God's will or sovereignty, and our freedom doesn't limit it either.  God can work His will with or without our cooperation, but we are esteemed by God to be vessels of honor.  Like Paul said, "I venture not to speak of anything, but of what Christ has accomplished through me" (cf. Rom. 15:18).

We can thwart God's preceptive will, (written and revealed), but not His directive, hidden, secret, or decreed will.  "...For who can resist his will?"  (Rom. 9:19, ESV).  We are not to resign ourselves to fate and say, "Que sera, sera, what will be, will be," like Doris Day sang, but trust that God has a purpose for everything that happens (cf. Prov. 16:4).  True faith adheres to God through thick and thin, come whatever may. Even so-called calamity comes from God and the bad times as well as the good times (cf. Isaiah 45:7; Amos 3:6; Lam. 3:38).  And so, let the chips fall where they may and when the chips are down we must still trust in Christ our Rock.

Remember, God's decreed will is none of our business and when we judge His will, we violate His justice, for He is the moral center of the universe and judges us.  We must conclude with Benjamin Franklin that "God governs in the affairs of men."  And realize God's sovereignty over all as John Wycliffe concluded in his tenet:  "Everything comes to pass of necessity."  The same was true of what Joseph said to his brothers:  "...[You] meant evil against me, but God meant it for good..."  (cf. Gen. 50:20). He found out that "Everything works together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose," (cf. Romans 8:28). 

God even makes the wrath of man to bring Him praise (cf. Psalm 76:10).  God can work through the most diabolical of events, for He was in control at the crucifixion (cf. Acts 2:23; 4:28).  It is not fortuitous that Christ died on Passover to be our Paschal lamb!  Indeed, a full appreciation of the providence of God leads to a walk by faith trusting and thanking God in all things coming to pass.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

You Meant It For Evil

Joseph told his brothers that God meant their evil deeds for the overall good in Gen. 50:20.  Yes, God manipulates evil for the greater good of man and glory of God.  Why?  There's so much evil to work with, why not? God turns the wrath of man into praise per Psalm 76:10!  You may ask, "Why does God permit evil?" Friday wondered the same question in Robinson Crusoe:  If God were to wipe it out right now, who would be left that isn't besmirched or tainted with evil through and through?  God directs events, but some He only permits or allows to happen indirectly--but God is still in charge.

God is holy and cannot bear the sight of evil nor allow it in His presence; He cannot countenance any sin or iniquity (cf. Hab. 1:13).  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil (cf. Isaiah 5:20).  God has a purpose for everything, even the wicked for the day of evil (cf. Prov. 16:4).  God will ultimately judge it and bring everyone to account for their deeds, whether good or evil (cf. Eccl. 12:14).   Point in fact:  God already did something about evil; He made you!

God is not the author of evil, but if good didn't exist, there would be no evil--it's not an independent force a la yin yang--and it only exists as a parasite on good, because it's a perversion and distortion of good (note:  it's not the opposite of good and couldn't exist but for there being good to counterfeit without God), and we wouldn't know what good was without there being evil; would a fish know what dry air is like?  We have tasted of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and innocent children are unaware of it until the age of accountability (cf. Deut. 1:39; Isa. 7:16). If God were good, but not just and almighty, evil would be able to take over and corrupt all, but God restrains it and will judge it; justice delayed is not justice denied.  If there were no hell, God would be neither good nor just nor almighty.  We live in the day of grace and the Day of the Lord and of Judgment will eventually come to pass.   The mature believer discerns good and evil and is able to avoid evil and even hates it (cf. Heb. 5:14).  The fear of God is, therefore, to hate evil according to Proverb 8:13.

The whole point of allowing evil is to bring glory to God in the end result:  evil makes good shine all the brighter; during a disaster, Good Samaritans show forth the love of Christ in relief efforts.  You may ask, "Where was God when 9/11 happened?"  I say, "Where wasn't He?"  Some people see evil and say "Why?" while others see the good and say, "Why not?"  God is everywhere, this is known as ubiquity or omnipresence.  God is both transcendent or separate and removed from creation, but also immanent or close by, in that He is fully everywhere, and not partially anywhere.  God created the time/space continuum and can use it and isn't defined nor confined by it.  God is, therefore, able to guide by providence whatsoever takes place--every event and every creature's activity under the sun.

We don't blame God for evil, because man willingly does it, and not by compulsion.  Evil originated with Satan's pride and fall from heaven, and our evil had its origin in the original sin of Adam, which is imputed to our account and we are born into: we are sinners by nature, by choice, by birth, in fact, we have our solidarity in Adam with no more inclination to good, but we are not compelled nor impelled to sin, but inclined and predisposed to evil or sin, but we are not inclined to good, which was lost in the fall.

In the end, God doesn't owe man an explanation (He's too kind to be cruel, too wise to make a mistake, and too deep to explain Himself); we owe God an explanation!  God does as He pleases in all creation (cf. Psalm 135:6).  "But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?  Whatever He wants to do, he does"  (Job 23:13, NLT).  No one can ask Him what He's doing and why (cf. Daniel 4:35; Job 9:32).  God says, "...Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish"  (Isaiah 46:10, NLT).

God rules He doesn't just reign like the do-nothing monarch of the UK.  "He rules over the nations, and dominion belongs to the LORD (cf. Psalm 22:28).  God is able to turn the heart of the king like water of a river (cf. Prov. 21:1).  Man can make his plots, but the Lord overrules and frustrates the evil of the nations:  "The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes"  (Ps. 33:10, NLT).

Indeed, note that "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps"  (Prov. 16:9, NLT).  Man doesn't "get away" with evil, but will be held accountable at Judgment Day and he will reap his recompense.  Job was a man of integrity who shunned evil:  "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding"  (Job 28:28, NKJV).  Man ponders as to why bad things happen to good people without wondering why good things happen to bad people!

In sum, we must claim the promise of Romans 8:28, KJV, that says, "And we know that all things work together for good [turning proximate evil into long-term blessings] to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose."   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Finding Purpose In Life

"Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."  (Bertrand Russell, philosopher and mathematician and noteworthy atheist)

"The LORD has made everything for his own purposes..."  (Proverbs 16:4, NLT). 

"Think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage"  (Heb. 12:3, J. B. Phillips). 

"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep...." (Acts 13:36, ESV). 


"It is suicidal to live for yourself and to know no scheme or interest larger than your own little world--we must think outside the box and have a purpose in life.  We can become very busy with no aim in mind, but it will be futile.  We can become a success in the eyes of the world, achieving the so-called American dream and be a failure spiritually.  Every note we strike in this life makes up a chord that will vibrate for all eternity--we don't live for ourselves, but have an effect on others; i.e., no one lives nor dies unto himself, but has an impact and leaves a legacy, good or evil. Life is only a trust, a staging area, a rehearsal, a test or tryout to set us up for eternity; we fit into God's scheme uniquely. We should all seek to leave a legacy larger than life and bigger than ourselves that will have importance and impact in the future.

The point in life is not to have fun, win a lottery of life, become successful, but to contribute something back to society and leave your mark or lasting influence felt.  Einstein said that we shouldn't strive to be a man of success, but a man of value.  No one wants to be forgotten as if they never lived:  the trouble with most is that they live like they'll never die, and die as if they never lived!   We must live each day as if it were our last and always be prepared to meet the Lord of glory in glory!  We should have no unfinished business leftover, and leave no loose ends to tie up.  When we wake up we should say, "Lord, will today be the big day?"  You really aren't ready to live, till you're ready to die and you aren't really living if there's nothing or no one you would die for.  Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends, according to our Lord.

Everything in the universe was created teleologically (by the intelligent design of a wise Creator),  or with purpose-orientation.  There is a reason for everything in creation, and God doesn't make junk or anything in vain.  That includes you and me and Proverbs 16:4 says God made everything for His purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil!  We should have the conviction that God will fulfill His purpose for us in real time (cf. Psalm 57:2; 138:8, ESV, which says, "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me...."

The very words teleology, purpose, and design are forbidden concepts to secularists who deny there is any rhyme or reason behind creation because these words imply a Designer or Creator.  But you don't have cosmos without logos (the expression or revelation of God: logic)!  If we had no purpose in our cosmos there would be chaos, the enemy of science--but we have laws of the universe to depend on (cf. Job 38:33, ESV, which says, "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?  Can you establish their rule on the earth?") that we can know and manipulate to serve us, and science would be impossible without these laws, which implies a Lawgiver.

Colossians 1:16, MSG, says that everything "finds its purpose in him."  We are like that:  knowing God gives us purpose and meaning, an abundant and fulfilling life with meaning and direction, not chaos.  We are designed to know God and the God-shaped blank in us is only fulfilled by a personal relationship.  If we don't surrender the ownership of our lives to God, it will be chaotic, and not beautiful.  God does have a plan for us according to Jer. 29:11 and we can relinquish our lives to His lordship and behold the new life unfold.  

For He doesn't just change our lives but transforms them.  We become new from the inside out!  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17, ESV).  A full life involves living with a purpose or on purpose, and seeing your mission and finding some ministry to be used by God in service, for we are all servants of Christ in the final analysis.  We live for Christ, not for ourselves and this is the secret of happiness, to get our eyes off ourselves and realize it's not about us!

Nothing in life is haphazard or a fluke (we're no freak accident of nature!)--we are part of an intricate plan and we fit in somewhere because there's no one who doesn't have some special and unique purpose from God.  One noteworthy astronomer has compared the cosmos as one gigantic mathematical equation from the mind of a Great Mathematician!  As Christians, we are vessels of honor, not dishonor or wrath, and rejoice when God uses us to His glory!  

Don't worship at the altar of Almighty Chance and believe in impersonal forces such as fate, chance, luck, nor fortune.  They are all contradictions of God's attributes.  Fate is impersonal, while God is personal and knows us; chance is a nonentity and mathematical odd, while God is a certainty and sure thing; luck is dumb, while God is omniscient; fortune if blind, while God is all-seeing and knows all (Prov. 15:3, ESV, says, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.").

Life is not a game so it isn't all about winning, neither is it a race, that speed is of the essence, and neither is it a marathon, and so endurance and longevity aren't the only factors (we all have an individual race to run tailored for us), it isn't a party either, and therefore having fun is not where it's at, as the main objective; and life isn't a puzzle to figure out and that God is hiding its secrets from us, and only those "in the know" can succeed in life!  Life's secret is in Jesus ("in him was life, and the life was the light of men").

God makes us all good at something and gifted in our own way so that we are suited to do His will and glorify Him:  "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever," according to The Westminster Shorter Catechism!  Let me add that God has no backup plan or Plan B, we need to get with the program and be obedient to the heavenly calling or vision! If you aim for nothing, you will get nowhere!   In conclusion, let's note what Job concluded when God didn't answer his questions about his suffering:  "... 'I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted'"  (Job 42:1, ESV).

In summation, let me quote Isaiah 49:4 (NLT):  "I replied, 'But my work seems so useless!  I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand.  I will trust God for my reward."   Soli Deo Gloria! 

O.J.T. In The Real World

"[B]ut man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward"  (Job 5:7, ESV).

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous:  but the LORD delivereth him out of them all"  (Psalm 34:19, KJV). 

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold"  (Job 23:10, ESV).  

"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him"  (Philippians 1:29, NIV). 

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance character..." (Romans 5:3-4, ESV). 

"For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow [" for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men," ESV]"  (Lamentations 3:33, NLT).

"... Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad? ..." (Job 2:10, NLT).

"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty"  (Job 5:17, NIV).

"Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law"  (Psalm 94:2, ESV).

"I create the light and make the darkness.  I send good times and bad times..."  (Isaiah 45:7,
NLT).


Christians would be wise to heed the Word of God and pay attention to their elders and teachers, much more their parents as children, because they stand in loco Dei [in the place of God]!  We learn to rebel and question authority at a very young age and we all lose faith at some time in those that deserve our respect.  If we don't learn our lessons the easy way from Scripture, we will learn the hard way in the school of hard knocks!  We all do need backup training in the on-the-job-training (OJT) of real-life--this may be the dog-eat-dog world, the rat race, or the law of the jungle with the survival of the fittest, but we should be assured that when we go through the fire we will not be overwhelmed according to Isaiah 43:2, ESV:  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience [and the Word, of course], but shouts to us in our pains," C.  S.. Lewis has said.  There are no shortcuts, easy paths, nor simple formulae to follow to maturity--no magic formula or Eightfold Path [of Enlightenment] either like Buddha taught.  No matter how many noble truths we think of we cannot save ourselves nor find the truth.  We all learn by discipline as God is putting us through the crucible of life as one does a piece of silver, refining it till one sees himself in the reflection.

Experience is not what happens to you, but in you, it has been said, but note that the same sun melts the butter, hardens the clay, some people become bitter, and some better because of the same event--God knows what is best for us and what we can handle. Christ didn't exempt Himself from suffering and our crosses pale in comparison--He doesn't expect anything of us He didn't accomplish or endure; suffering, trials, temptations, adversity, trouble, and discipline are inevitable!  This is par for the course!

There are pitfalls to life and God doesn't promise us a bed of roses or a rose garden.  We learn from our mistakes and hardships, not our successes and prosperity.  Trials are a learning experience that we should welcome as friends that teach us the basics of life--the facts of life.  If we don't learn from the Bible, we will learn one way or another, probably by our mistakes and failures.  We will learn that making plans without God in them is vain and futile.  We don't bring our plans to God for His approval but seek His will in all we do.

Our life is but a pilgrimage or spiritual journey that is meant to glorify God and mold us in the image of Christ.  Just like a sculptor makes a horse from a slab of marble by taking away everything that doesn't resemble the horse, God is taking away everything that doesn't look like Jesus!  There comes a time to apply what we know and get our heads out of the books and step into the real world and learn by trial and error, if not by heeding the Word,  how to obey Christ, and abide in His will.


We have matriculated in the school of Christ and discipleship is largely discipline, accountability, and acceptance of authority.  God is determined to make us Christlike--it comes with the territory! We cannot opt-out of discipline--it's a mandatory course and a requisite--"for whom the Lord loves He chastens," and Christians don't get away with anything and God oversees everything--the good news is that everything is Father-filtered, and nothing happens outside His will for our lives.  (Note Lam. 3:37, NLT, "Who can command things to happen without the Lord's permission?")   

We must not disdain the Lord's corrective discipline:   "But consider the joy of those corrected by God!  Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin"  (Job 5:17, NLT); "Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?" (Lam. 3:39, NLT).  Christ exhorted us to "count the cost"--don't be surprised that your faith must be tested!  We will find out by experience that the Christian life is not hard, it's impossible!

One can endure any suffering if one sees purpose and meaning in it--Christianity alone offers this--and we can be assured of what we signed up for:  no cross, no crown!  God places nothing in our path we cannot handle and cannot learn from.  Trials are a vote of confidence from God that He deems us worthy of being tested--if the Lord got you to it, He'll see you through it!  

Jesus wasn't afraid to get His hands dirty doing the Father's work, He joyfully got down and dirty with the so-called scum and outcasts.  In summation, when Christ makes the final audit of our lives at the Bema, Tribunal, or Judgment Seat, of Christ will we have accomplished His will for our lives and glorified Him with all our resources, talents, skills, money, opportunities, gifts, relationships, and time management?
Soli Deo Gloria!  

No Plan B

"I am the LORD; if I say it, it will happen"   (Ezek. 12:25, NLT). 
"No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the LORD"  (Prov. 21:30, NLT).   
"It is useless for you to fight against my will [kick against the goads]"  (cf. Acts 26:14, NLT).  
"I will tell you the future before it happens"  (Isa. 42:9, NLT). 
"Have you not heard?  Long ago I did it, From ancient times I planned it, Now I have brought it to pass:  (Isaiah 37:26, NASB--cf. 2 Kgs. 19:25).  

God has no backup plan in case the church is remiss to fulfill the Great Commission!  But God's purposes are fulfilled regardless, and He cannot fail:  "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand" (Prov. 19:21, ESV).  God sees history as a sure thing, under His control and there can be no surprise.  God does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all things, actions, and creatures, from the smallest sub-atomic particle to the largest galaxy (cf. from the divines of The Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646)!

There are no so-called fortuitous events, but only decreed ones, and the blind kismet of Islam is fatalistic and impersonal; both are unsuitable and unfit to our God. God oversees and superintends:  "Can anything happen without the LORD's permission?"  (Cf. Lam. 3:37).  God need not figure the odds, because He reigns.  "Only I can tell you the future before it ever happens"  (Isa. 46:10, NLT).  "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples" (Psalm 33:10, ESV).

We can see God's fingerprint everywhere:  There is order, purpose, and design--He is "before all things and in Him all things consist" (cf. Col. 1:17).  You may wonder if you have missed the boat for God's will, and you were left behind and will pay the price for the rest of your days:  "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me..." (Psalm 138:8, ESV).  "I cry out to God Most Hgh, to God who fulfills his purpose for me"  (Psalm 57:2, ESV).  The doctrine of Providence is largely ignored by preachers today, but knowing it gives proper orientation to God's sovereign plan for us.  Never forget that God reigns, and is in control--"Dominion belongs to the LORD, and He rules over the nations" (cf. Psalm 22:28).  There is no detail too minute or trivial that escapes His attention, and no problem too big for God to handle--every thing's small to Him! God is not our spectator!  There are no flukes to history as His story!

God is never thwarted and frustrated by His creatures:  "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted"  (Job 42:2, ESV).  God took everything into consideration!  God gets His way and does as He pleases!  "For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?  His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?"  (Isa. 14:27, ESV).  "The LORD of hosts has sworn:  'As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand"  (Isa. 14:24, ESV).  God isn't taken aback by us because He is pansophic and knows all--He doesn't just see the future, but controls it and plans it!  God cannot fail nor make mistakes, because He has all power over His creatures, as well as creation itself.

We are part of some grand scheme of God, some chord that will vibrate into eternity, some intricate plan in which God is the main actor who appears front and center, we merely have roles in His play.   There is nothing haphazard in God's plan, there's no happenstance, but all are come to pass of necessity according to John Wycliffe. There are no coincidences, and no chance events, but God even controls the role of the dice (cf. Prov. 16:33).  As Einstein said, "God doesn't play dice!"  He doesn't have to because He also knows all that possibly could be and every contingency.  His sovereignty isn't limited by our freedom, because He wouldn't be completely sovereign then, and things could be up in the air and open to chance occurrence.  But there is no chance event, because He doesn't merely reign as a do-nothing God, but rules on His throne.  Fortunately, God deals in certainties, not possibilities or conjectures. Our future is thereby assured and determined as secure as His throne.


We are not worshiping our sovereign God, but at the altar of Almighty Chance when we don't recognize God's guidance of all events, "who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (cf. Eph. 1:11, ESV).  Nebuchadnezzar cried out, "... [A]nd none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"  (Dan. 4:35, ESV).  The only reason one needs a backup plan is because of lack of foresight or power to follow through on your intentions--God knows all and is able to take all into consideration, and His omnipotence or plenipotence is able to have all power over His creation and manipulate it at will. God certainly governs in the affairs of men and orchestrates all history as His grand story of our redemption--the redemptive narrative.

God cannot fail and the prime example of this is how He defeated Satan on the cross by turning a seemingly evil and calamitous event into good and to bring Him glory.  "Surely the wrath of men praise [God]'  (cf. Psalm 76:10)--this is God's way of defeating evil.  We can see from the crucifixion that God can work with the most diabolical of events (cf. Acts 2:23; 4:28), the short-term evil for the long-term good, as He allows and permits them.   There are no "accidents of history" and God means it for our good, when evil happens like Joseph told his brothers in Gen. 50:20, "... [Y]ou meant evil against me; but God meant it for good...."

We are all here for a purpose and that means we should find purpose in what we do, a life without purpose is a waste of time and trivial.  "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep..."  (Acts 13:36, ESV). We are but vessels of God to be used for His glory and He gladly rewards us for what He accomplishes through us:  "For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me..."  (Romans 15:18, ESV). Indeed, "... God has done for us all our works" (Isa. 26:12).  It is an honor to be used!

God leaves nothing to chance--He is sovereign over all creation, and what kind of God wouldn't be?  Albert Einstein said, "God doesn't play dice!"  God works to accomplish His will through vessels of honor and dishonor, nevertheless, it's His will that is completed.  God is not confined nor defined by the time-space continuum in which we are bound and He created, He sees what the future holds and is outside of our dimensions and can control them, meaning He can know all by virtue of His sovereignty and omnipotence and can control all by virtue of His omnipotence and sovereignty--they're distinguished, but not separated, meaning you cannot divorce these attributes!  

Bear in mind God is "too wise to make a mistake, too kind to be cruel, and too deep to explain Himself!"  Newsflash:  All is going according to plan!  David says confidently trusting in God:  "The course of my life is in Your power" (Ps. 31:15, HCSB).  We may not know the future, but we know who holds the future!    Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Puzzle Of Life

 "The LORD directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives"  (Psalm 37:23, NLT).  
"Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory"  (Psalm 50:15, NLT).   

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble"  (Psalm 46:1, NLT).

God gave us the Great Commission and the Great Commandment as the general plan of action we should pursue, but the details are up to us to fill in the blanks and walk by faith day by day.  We have a general plan to know the direction we should go (to know Him and make Him known) but doesn't usually give us the specifics or details, which we work out as we go on our spiritual journey and grow in faith. No one knows the whole outline of his life, the whole plan:

God may call us to the mission field, but we will not know this of our own wisdom, we don't appoint ourselves to God's work, but are sent and called.   We basically learn from our mistakes and hopefully won't make the same one twice--no one ever learned anything new from the second kick of a mule! We must realize that God is the Lord of all, and His sovereignty isn't limited by our freedom, as we learn to trust and obey.

We can't figure out what God is doing behind the scenes, but must learn to trust God for His providence, that He knows what He is doing and that all things will work out for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28).  God doesn't lay out His will for our whole life, but in increments so that we will learn to walk in the Spirit, one day at a time.  "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it"  (cf. Psalm 118:24).  God directs us through Providence as it is written:  "A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?"  (Prov. 20:24, ESV).  We can make our plans, but God's will is done:  "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."  "I know O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps"  (Jer. 10:23, ESV).

Following the LORD is a little like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with no picture to guide or all in one color!  "For we walk by faith, and not by sight"  (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7).   We must get our act together and know what we are doing, following a rational and systematic methodology.  We must trust that God knows what He is doing and wouldn't deceive us that the puzzle is unsolvable--God doesn't waste our time!  God has a purpose and design for everything, and, if we have enough patience, we will eventually solve the puzzle. We don't see the end result but must trust God for bringing us to it.  However, we have a guide to lead us, the Holy Spirit, and if we walk in the Spirit, we will find answers or the answer.

Our life may seem like trial and error to us, but there's a method to the madness if we know Christ.  We see doors open and close and seize the day when God grants it one day at a time.  God has a plan for our lives and it's never too late to get with the program; there's no Plan B!  We may not be inclined to put this jigsaw together, because we don't have that kind of patience, and don't even want it, but if Christ were helping us we'd be glad to do it, having Him as our enabler and partner.

It would take 1.35 trillion years for a blind man to solve Rubik's Cube, making one move per second, and so we conclude that it's impossible for a blind man to do it in his lifetime.  But it is possible to solve this jigsaw, it just takes time, patience, and organization.  We are a work in progress that only God sees what we will look like when done, and solving this puzzle seems like an exercise in futility, but we would get the fulfillment of knowing we accomplished the seemingly impossible.  It's the same with the Christian life; it's not hard, but impossible.

God gives us an assignment or chore that we cannot complete on our own without the aid of the Spirit guiding us. He wants us to learn to trust and obey Him and lean on Him!   But we should know that whatever we do in the Lord will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ; our faithfulness will be reckoned, not necessarily our success. He doesn't want our achievements, He wants us!   God only gives us assignments we can handle and to whom much is given, much is required.

We don't have to understand why we are going through trials, but just to realize that they serve to further sanctify us.  Job and Joseph are examples of someone who didn't know what God was up to,  never given a reason for their sufferings, but Job was just humbled before God and found out that God is too wise to make a mistake, too kind to be cruel, and too deep to explain Himself.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

He Makes Something Beautiful

The song goes, "Something beautiful, something good; all my confusion He understood; all I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife; He made something beautiful of my life!"

"I know, LORD, that a person's life is not his own.   No one is able to plan his own course"  (Jer. 10:23, NLT).

"The LORD will work out his plans for my life--for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.  Don't abandon, me, for you made me"  (Psalm 138:8, NLT). 

"How can we understand the road we travel?  It is the LORD who directs our steps"  (Prov. 20:24, NLT).

"John replied, 'God in heaven appoints each person's work" (John 3:27, NLT).  

"And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified"  (Acts 20:32, ESV).  

"Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm"  (Isa. 7:9, NLT).  

"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls" (Jer. 6:16, NKV).

"Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity"  (Rom. 12:2, J. B. Phillips).

"Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?"  (Lam. 3:38, NLT). "... Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" (Job 2:10, NLT).

We don't need a self-help or self-improvement course to become what God wants us to be, just learn to walk in the Spirit and avail ourselves of His power over sin.  There's always room for improvement and we are all works in progress!  Even Paul never claimed to have arrived and said that he wasn't there yet (cf. Phil. 3:12-13).  Christ exhorts us to be perfect or mature in Matt. 5:48; however, though perfection is the standard, the direction is the test!  Christians aren't perfect, but they are forgiven; there's no such thing as perfectionism, whereby we don't sin anymore:  "Who can say, 'I made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin?'" (Prov. 20:9, ESV).  The psalmist in Psalm 119:96 said he'd seen the limit of all perfection.

When we are mature in Christ we will be overcomers and find victory over our private sin:  "I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt [sin]"  (Psalm 18:23, ESV).  As Job said appropriately in Job 14:14 (NIV), "All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come." As Psalm 103:4 (ESV) says, "[He] redeems your life from the pit [of despair or depression]."  Just like the transformation of the apostles after the resurrection to make them bold witnesses, we can count on the same power to change us from within.

Religion is just that:  Reaching out to God and trying to gain His approbation.  Christianity is where God stoops down in grace and reaches out to us, doing a work of grace in our hearts that we cannot do; if we had to do anything for salvation we'd mess it up and fail!  The whole point of salvation is that it's a fait accompli or done deal, it's not "do," but "done!" We don't turn over a new leaf or resolve to make amends, or make New Year's resolutions, but are changed by the same dynamic that resurrected Christ--we are given a new life with a fresh start, freed from our past's power over us. Salvation must be recognized as a gift and we don't earn it, didn't deserve it, and can never pay it back!

Unfortunately, we are incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation, but Jesus said the work of God is to believe in Him (cf. John 6:29)!  In a works religion you can never be sure and never know how much work is enough--Christianity alone, of all faiths, offers assurance of salvation and admonishes to make sure of our calling and election (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10) so we won't be the casualty of Satan and our walk won't be paralyzed or stuck in a rut!

We have three areas of weakness that Satan attacked Jesus on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (cf. 1 John 2:16).  Note that one who is born of God doesn't practice sin or make it his way of living--he has renounced sin!  (Cf. 1 John 3:6).  Knowing ourselves, our adversary the devil and his schemes, and the world-system is key to victory since the best path to victory is to know the enemy! Satan is no original and hasn't thought up any new attacks since tempting Eve in the perfect environment--this means we cannot blame the environment, for we are all depraved through and through by sin's corruption--body, emotions, intellect, and will or volition.  Socrates said that the "unexamined life is not worth living," and the Greeks of antiquity said we must know ourselves--this is true because we are our own worst enemy and Satan knows our vulnerability and weakness and "seeks whom he may devour" (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8-9).


God has wonderful plans for us and it is never too late to get on track--He has no Plan B, but if we don't seek His will, He may say, "Okay, have it your way!" which will never work out for us:  We must be convinced that all things work out together for our good according to Romans 8:28, but we can thwart God's preceptive will for our lives.  Psalm 81:12 (ESV) says:  "So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels."  We don't clean up our act and then we are ready to do His will or to be saved, but we are incapable of getting our act together apart from grace:  "Apart from Me you can do nothing"  (cf. John 15:5).

We are either in God's will, or not, and we can't say that we'll settle for God's second-best either!  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jer. 29:11, ESV).  Job's faith was tested as he couldn't understand why we must accept adversity from the LORD if we accept blessing--He sends both good and bad times.  But God can remake our lives into Christ's image because He is in the resurrection business, and no one is too much of a challenge for Him, Jeremiah proclaims "... Nothing is too hard for you"  (Jer. 32:17, ESV).   God answers  Abraham and Sarah:  "Is anything too hard for the LORD...?" (Gen. 18:14, NIV).

We must realize that Christianity is not a catalog of rules, a list of dos and don'ts, a system of ethics or conduct, a philosophy, but a relationship getting to know Jesus--it's not a creed to believe, but a person to know.  Paul said in Acts 13:38-39 (ESV--italics mine) that "everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses." We are set free from sin's dominion (cf. Rom. 6:14) and if Jesus sets us free we shall be free indeed (cf. John 8:36).  Our new life is one of victory and glorifying Christ as we progress from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:17) and glory to glory (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18) in our sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

God causes us to triumph (cf. 2 Cor. 2:14) and we "are more than conquerors" (cf. Rom. 8:37).  We don't try hard, but trust in His power to change us from the inside out ("If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.").  We must remember that nature formed us by procreation; sin deformed us in Adam; schools inform us by education; prison can reform us by punishment when evil; but only Christ can transform us by the power of the Spirit.

Where does this power come from?  The Word of God, the Spirit, God through Christ.  The Word is alive and powerful (cf. Heb. 4:12); the Word is able to work within us for our good (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13); and the same power of the Holy Spirit that resurrected Christ is at work within us--no one is too big a challenge!  (Cf. Phil. 3:10).  He's still in the resurrection business, and changing lives is Christ's vocation.  Jesus is in the business of changing lives!  We can do all through Christ, who strengthens us (cf. Phil. 4:13).

We must rely on the power of God in us and walk by the Spirit, not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh (cf. Gal. 5:16); for as many, as are led by the Spirit are the sons of God (cf. Rom. 8:14).  We are transformed by the renewing of our mind, done by the power of the Word sanctifying us (Jesus prayed in John 17:17:  "Sanctify them by Your Word, Your Word is truth").  Note that no problem is too big a challenge for God, but the change doesn't come all at once either!

We must be overcomers over the sin that easily besets us (cf. Heb. 12:1), and even our pet sin and let no sin have dominion over us (cf. Psalm 119:133). In the same vein:  "How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  Keep your servant from deliberate sins. Don't let them control me.  Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin"  (Psalm 19:12-13, NLT).   Paul writes:  "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful, All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything."  It is important to realize that our sin doesn't demonstrate our freedom, but proves our slavery and we can be set free (cf. Rom. 6:14).  "You are slaves to whatever you choose to obey" (cf. Rom. 6:16).

We can be set free from the vicious circle of sin and death (cf. Rom. 8:2).  Anyone who has faith can overcome the world and no evil can control us because greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (cf. 1 John 4:4).  There is no temptation that we cannot overcome and find a way of escape that we can endure it (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13) and nothing will overwhelm us:  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and your troubles will not overwhelm you"  (cf. Isa. 43:2); "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you, When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown..." (Isa. 43:2, NLT).

We have three enemies of our sin nature, the flesh; the devil and his minions and cohorts; the world-system itself that we are not to love what it has to offer (cf. 1 John 2:15).  But our worst enemy is ourselves and we will find more trouble with ourselves than with anyone else! It has been said facetiously that "We have met the enemy and he is us!"  We live in enemy-occupied territory, or Satan's turf and are on his hit-list. When we get saved the battle has just begun, but remember, "The battle is the Lord's."  Martin Luther sang in "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God":  Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.

The only way to sure victory is to be armed with God's heavenly armor:  "Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might"  (cf. Eph. 6:10).  Our only offensive weapon of choice is the Word of God and this is how Jesus defeated Satan, by quoting it:  "It is written!"   We must have our defenses intact too:  the shield of faith; the belt of truth; the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace; the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation!   So get in uniform with other believers and you'll be ready to wage war on Satan!   Christians are set free form evil and the evil one cannot touch them (cf. John 17:15; 1 John 5:18)--knowing the truth of the matter will set us free (cf. John 8:32).


Everyone has a crutch and it is no shame to lean on the Lord and the Word of God as comfort; He'll never leave us nor forsake us (cf. Heb. 13:5), and will be with us to the end of the age (cf. Matt. 28:20).  'The Lord is my strength and my song, and my salvation" said David in Psalm 18:2.  Our Rock is Christ (cf. Psalm 18:31, 46; 1 Cor. 10:4).  If you don't trust in the Lord, you will trust in man or yourself, and they are not rocks at all.  The biggest reason believers fail is a lack of knowledge and that they don't know the Lord (cf. Hos. 4:1, 6, 14).  As Sir Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is power" referring to Proverbs 24:5.  Our God is not a throwback to our need for a Father-figure!  He is not a projection that we imagine because we have nowhere else to go!  God can be experienced and made real--He will authenticate Himself to any earnest seeker who is not a trifler (cf. Heb. 11:6)!  "Taste and see that the LORD is good"  (cf. Psalm 34:8, NIV).  There are perks and fringe benefits to knowing the Lord:  "What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?"  (Psalm 116:12, ESV);  "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits"  (Psalm 103:2, ESV).

And so salvation is freedom from guilt, sin's power, condemnation, and the penalty of sin with the promise of being delivered finally from its presence in glory!   Many Christians live defeated lives and fall prey to the devil's schemes of divide and conquer mind games, and deceit or lies.  The best offense is to be armed with the Word resident in our souls to give us the divine viewpoint and worldview to see him at work and fight him and his influence.  Our faith is not a do-it-yourself proposition or lifting ourselves up by our bootstraps, but a work of grace transforming us into new creatures in Christ or being regenerated by the Spirit.   We are saved, we are being saved, and we shall be saved, praise the Lord!   We must give God all the credit, our righteousness is as filthy rags and any goodness we have is God's gift to us, not our gift to God:  "Who makes you to differ?  What do you have that you didn't receive?"  (cf. 1 Cor. 4:7).


In perspective, man ruins his own life and blames God (cf. Prov. 19:3), and when he's a success he gives himself the glory and credit, not realizing that God gives them success (cf. Deut. 8:17; Psalm 1:3; Josh. 1:8;  Jer. 29:11).  It is said that modern man is like the Englishman:  a self-made man who worships his creator!  In contrast note Psalm 100:3 (NKJV):  Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."  That is:  God is the Potter; we are the clay!   Note God's providence; we need to realize our lives are ultimately in God's hands (cf. Psalm 31:15):  "The course of my life is in Your power..." (HCSB); "My future is in your hands..." (NLT); "My times are in your hand..." (NIV, NKJV).  God orchestrates our lives and plans out each day before we were yet born (cf. Psalm 139:16).  We have a destiny with God in control, not a fate with no input--viva la difference!

In conclusion, seven rather obscure passages come to mind with italics mine:  "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:  thereby good shall come unto thee"  (Job 22:212, KJV); I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me"  (Psalm 57:2, ESV); "But He gives more grace..." (James 4:6, NKJV); "... [But] the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways..." (Daniel 5:23, ESV); I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living"  (Psalm 27:13, NKJV, italics in Bible for part A); "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever"  (Psalm 16:11, NLT);  "Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future lies before those who love peace"  (Psalm 37:37, NLT).  Finally, quoting Paul in 1 Cor. 15:10 (NIV, CAPS MINE):  "BUT BY THE GRACE OF GOD I AM WHAT I AM...."  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Shrine Of Almighty Chance

People who play the lotto or gamble compulsively don't realize that God micromanages the cosmos and superintends every creature and event under the sun as His divine sovereignty dictates; i.e., there is no such thing as chance, but a mathematical probability and it's blind, whereas God sees all--it is not an entity and it's corollary, luck, is dumb (whereas God is omniscient), and fortune is a way to avoid the word blessing!   I realize some people's retirement plan is to win the lottery, but this is vain and contrary to the Word, where we should be wise in stewardship and plan ahead while trusting in God, not our money to save and provide for us!

Is your security in your portfolio or in Providence?  God is in control, for what kind of God wouldn't be:  There is not one maverick molecule in the universe!  Fate, by the way, is impersonal and even blind, whereas God is personal and involved with care in our lives. There's no such entity as good fortune, but God is good to all and blesses them either directly or by association.  Do you ever say to yourself, "Let's not meet by accident [referring to a collision]!"  Or even, "Fancy meeting you here!" We make mistakes and have accidents as humans, but God overrules and puts meaning in them--there's even meaning in suffering, which is God's megaphone to speak to us.  God's cosmos is not random, but intricately designed and under control.  It has been said that the entire universe is like one vast mathematical equation form God's mind.

God even works through diabolical events (cf. Acts 2:23, 4:28) such as the crucifixion to bring about blessings out of curses, and Joseph met his brothers and told them that, though they meant it for evil, God meant it for good! There are no flukes of nature or accidents of history--we must realize God's wisdom in allowing or causing them to happen.  Wycliffe said, "All things come to pass of necessity." "The steps of a man are established by the LORD" (cf. Psa. 37:23).  God's answer to happenstance is Providence and this is meant to be comforting and assuring that God reigns and rules overall.  "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will"  (Eph. 1:11, NIV).

Nothing happens by chance or coincidence: There is no fortuitous event, but everything under the sun has purpose and meaning in God's eyes, even if we don't fathom it (cf. Prov. 16:4; Prov. 16:33; Eph. 1:11).  Purpose is a naughty word for the modern man who believes in random chance and even denies there is purpose in life itself.  But it behooves us to realize the reasoning behind God's blessings and His providence in our lives--don't shrug off something as getting lucky or fate smiling on you, but give the glory to God who has blessed you and sees and knows all possibilities and can coordinate and orchestrate our lives with utmost care, having written them down before we were born (cf. Psalm 139:16).  

NB:  the providence of God.    "LORD, I know that people's lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps"  (Jer. 10:23, NIV). "A man's steps are directed by the LORD.  How then can anyone understand their own way?"  (Prov. 20:24, NIV).

We really shouldn't accommodate the secularists by using these words in our vocabulary, but boldly witness and testify of the providence and blessings of God on our behalf, who watches over us to provide us all our needs.  Ben Franklin observed and gave the testimony:  "I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more I'm convinced that God governs in the affairs of men."

Note:  God is the sole primary cause of the cosmos, who either directs or permits all events:  Nothing just happens according to the law of causality (cause and effect); and if God caused it, it must have purpose, because He's a God of purpose and design, known as teleology.  We are secondary causes and agents of God being used for His ultimate will. 

The conclusion of the matter is this:  "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Prov. 16:33, NIV).  This implies there are meaning and purpose in everything to God (cf. Prov. 16:4), but we are not capable of discerning or deciphering it all the time--just take it by faith that God is with you.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Finding Our Calling

The following verses are pertinent to finding God's will for your life:

"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much..."  (Luke 16:10, ESV).

"... Well done, thou good and faithful servant..."  (cf. Luke 19:17, KJV).

"Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is"  (Eph. 5:17, ESV). 

"For I know the plans I have for you, ' declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"  (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV). 

"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ, ... he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone"  (Ephesians 1:11, The Message).

"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, ... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him" (Colossians 1:16, The Message). 

"Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established" (Proverbs 16:3, ESV).

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death"  (Proverbs 16:18, ESV).

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand"  (Proverbs 19:21, ESV).  

"Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."  (Bertrand Russell, mathematician, philosopher, atheist, author of the famed book, Why I Am Not A Christian).


God has uniquely gifted everyone for the ability to know His will, but it isn't an automatic given to know it, though Acts 22:14 says it has been granted Paul to know His will.  We must search for it and be willing to do it or we will never know it.  "If any man wills to do His will..." (cf. John 7:17).   Obedience and willingness are provisos to finding out God's plan.  If we are not obedient in what He has revealed, we will not be given more light.  Most people blindly go through life, the blind leading the blind, and never find their true calling--they exist, but don't live. We are meant to live for something bigger than ourselves and for something that will outlast our lives--every chord we play strikes some note that will vibrate throughout eternity, but some of us march to the beat of a different drum than the light of Scripture.  "When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD" (Proverbs 19:3).  Man ruins his life, then blames God, or he is a success and congratulates himself!

This life is but a dress rehearsal and a tryout for the real thing in heaven, or a stage set for eternity, and we are meant to find out what we are here for. People who don't know their purpose attempt too much! Attempt great things for God, and expect greater things from God!  The Bible is our Owner's Manual and has everything we need to know for fulfillment in life!   Many people live as if they will never die, and die as if they never lived, and don't find purpose until their later years!  What a pity that the common man sees nothing more to live for than the Epicurean philosophy of "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die" (cf. Isaiah 22:13) school of thought.  We are not to live just in the "here and now," but in "light of eternity," and "it ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day," according to commentator Matthew Henry.  We have the ability to see and expect the future, but with that comes the downside or drawback of being capable of worry.  We should never live in the past of regret, nor in the future of worry (paying dividends on bills we don't owe): These are the two thieves of our time and when we don't live life to the fullest it is usually this to blame.

Now, most people never even find out what they are good at, much less, their true calling in life: "God in heaven appoints each man's work" (John 3:27, NLT).  It is often said: "You missed your calling" with tongue-in-cheek.  The best we can hope for in life is to find out His will and plan for our lives, and it is never too late for God's best--He is in the business of changing lives and transforming them into the image of Christ. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17, ESV). Christ is still in the resurrection business and can change our lives from the inside out--we don't just turn over a new leaf, but start afresh with Jesus in charge--we are changed from the inside out.

There is no greater joy, than in doing the Lord's work, but there is a curse on anyone who is slack in doing it (cf. Jeremiah 48:10).  The happiest people, it has been put, are those who are too busy trying to meet other's needs and make them happy, that they don't have time to worry about their own.  The sure recipe of a wasted life is to live it for yourself--get your eyes off yourself and live for God's will, whatever the calling--there are many callings, but the same Spirit (and that's what counts!).

Many people experience a dramatic conversion and their whole life turns around or heads in a new direction after finding Christ:  Look at how prison radicalized the life of Chuck Colson (dirty-tricks and hatchet man for Pres. Nixon, turned philosophical apologist for the faith), for instance! God puts us through the fires of adversity to make us better people, and no one is exempt, not even Christ exempted Himself. Our crosses pale in comparison to His and we should be aware that adversity, trials, sufferings, discipline, and misfortune happen to all of us and are meant for our good, and Christ can turn even the most diabolical atrocity into something good:  "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (cf. Gen. 50:20). God orchestrates all events, even historically, and never loses control of His Plan. (Romans 8:28, ESV says:  "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good....")  We can do nothing to thwart His intentions and make God resort to a Plan B.

The most important link to finding God's will is seizing the day (going for it!), or carpe diem, or seeking God's will and recognizing it when you see it in the light of Scripture.  God will open doors, we just have to be ready to step into His will (cf. Isaiah 22:22).  When God opens a door, the impossible can become possible, because all things are possible with God (cf. Luke 1:37).  When I first became a believer, I didn't understand why my brothers in the Lord were so concerned about what God's will was:  "What would Jesus do?"  As we mature we have a greater desire to please God and live for Him and His glory: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever" (cf. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).  "[E]veryone] who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made"  (Isaiah 43:7, ESV).  We must learn to live for Christ and not ourselves, to please others, not ourselves!

How do you know that you were not "born for such a time as this?" (Cf. Esther 4:14).  Living on purpose is the only way to live, says Rick Warren, and life makes no sense without purpose.  Life is an intricate plan of God and we are to fit into God's plans, not ask Him to fit into our plans! This is the origin of the Protestant work ethic.  When we are engaged and engrossed in God's work everything else is put into the right perspective:  "... I am doing great work, so I cannot come down..." (Nehemiah 6:3, KJV).  Motivation is primed by the right orientation:  "... [F]or the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6, NKJV).  We want to be like Jesus at the end of our lives and be able to confess:  "... I have finished the work which You have given Me to do"  (John 17:4, NKJV).  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!   Soli Deo Gloria!