Total Certainty!
No one knows the future, except One.
It is a deep thought to contemplate: God knows what is going to happen tomorrow, and every tomorrow after that, with no exceptions.
He knows all your tomorrows and all of mine.
"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:16)
The technical word some people use for God's all-knowing is "omniscience." But Scripture never presents truth technically. "Omniscient" may neatly fit into some category of a dusty book of theology - normally in the section "God's Incommunicable Attributes" but truth in Scripture is never theoretical. Truth is to the ordinary rounds of life what breath is to the body.
So when David tells us that God knows all our days his purpose is to bring us this help and comfort: however you and I may judge our sorrowful yesterdays or fear our unknown tomorrows - God wrote them! And every single one of them was written in God's Great Big Book, before one of them came to be.
What deep comfort! No "accidents" and no "mistakes."
From heaven's perspective everything in the past and future is known: nothing is uncertain. All is planned, either allowed by God's loving permissive will or determined by his gracious executive will.
Every single day.
We live by Faith
If God lives by sight we live by faith for we do not know what the future holds. "You do not even know what will happen tomorrow," says James. (4:14)
You and I have no idea what will happen tomorrow! It's humbling! We live one little mist-like day at a time.
The UK Government has recently come out with a road map for moving the country out of lockdown - it could be that not one of their plans come to pass! It could be. We too make plans - and there is nothing wrong with that - but not one of them may actually take place.
The spell of uncertainty cast by Coronavirus has always been there, it's just that we are now aware of it.
But though we don't know the future, we have a great and loving Father in heaven who does, and we are called to seek his will and trust him.
In this series of devotionals on the sure Promises of God we consider a promise so well known, that many of us will be able to say it off by heart:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5,6)
The Conditions
Once again, this is a conditional promise preceded by three conditions.
The first is to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. We're not here being encouraged to believe God exists theoretically, but to place our lives in his hands, trusting him day by day. Trusting in the Lord is what Abraham did when he left his comfortable bricks-and-mortar home in the civilized city of Ur in obedience to God's command, though he did not know where God's tented future would take him.
The second condition is that we do not lean on our own understanding. As an old man might entrust his whole weight to a walking stick, so we all too often trust in our own plans and our own abilities to figure things out. When we make our plans, we must say all the time "if God wills" and be prepared to have those plans changed or even overturned.
We must not be upset if God changes "our" plans.
The third condition is this: "in all your ways acknowledge him." This is old-fashioned day to day holiness. Seek to live each day in God's will and for his glory.
The Promise
When God's people trust him with all their hearts, when they don't rely on their own intellect, and when they live open and obedient lives before him, then he promises to direct their paths.
Some Christians struggle with guidance because they've got things the wrong way around. This promise of God asks us to put daily walking with God our first priority and teaches us to regard divine guidance as simply a fruit of that daily walk.
We are being taught to view guidance as a by-product of whole-hearted Christian living rather than as an end in itself and something to be pursued.
If we live goldy lives we shan't need books on guidance: it will simply happen!
Summing it All Up
Are you seeking God's will for some aspect of life? A marriage partner, a clearer understanding of career direction or ministry calling?
If you are consumed with guidance, this promise urges you to restructure your priorities and to set trusting, not leaning on your own plans and acknowledging the Lord in all of life as your top priority. And as you re-order your priorities in this way, God promises to lead.
Perhaps your priorities are right but this promise of God has not yet been fulfilled. Be patient and claim the promise in your daily prayers, "Lord you have promised to direct my paths, please fulfill your promise to me."
A SONG FOR THE DAY
I have chosen a hymn by the now-93 year old Timothy Dudley-Smith, a wonderful hymn writer from the last century. I once sang this hymn with a thousand other souls and that memory has etched this hymn onto my heart.
Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided,
urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way,
sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided:
Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.
Lord, for that word, the word of life which fires us,
speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze,
teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us:
Lord of the word, receive Your people's praise.
urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way,
sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided:
Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.
Lord, for that word, the word of life which fires us,
speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze,
teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us:
Lord of the word, receive Your people's praise.
Lord, for our land in this our generation,
spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care:
for young and old, for commonwealth and nation,
Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer.
Lord, for our world when we disown and doubt him,
loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain,
hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him:
Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.
Lord for ourselves; in living power remake us -
self on the cross and Christ upon the throne,
past put behind us, for the future take us:
Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.
spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care:
for young and old, for commonwealth and nation,
Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer.
Lord, for our world when we disown and doubt him,
loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain,
hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him:
Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.
Lord for ourselves; in living power remake us -
self on the cross and Christ upon the throne,
past put behind us, for the future take us:
Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.
Timothy Dudley Smith
You can worship HERE.
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Our loving Father in heaven,
We do indeed bring to you our thanks today, for the way your love has sought and saved us, kept and guided us, urged and inspired us, pardoned and provided for us all along our way.
Keep us from being anxious about the future and teach us to walk one day at a time.
Remind us that knowing the future is far less important than godliness in the present.
And help us to learn from your Word today that you promise to lead us when we acknowledge you in all of our ways and when we trust in you rather than ourselves.
We ask these things in Jesus' Name
Amen.
Photo by Robert Ruggiero on Unsplash
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