The Holy One calls to me this morning. The majesty of Holiness are the first thoughts of today. Those thoughts are shortly followed by ones that rest upon the mystery of Holiness.
The Holy Spirit sometimes teases my mind with fragments of thoughts that challenge me to chase after His wisdom. Today, in the midst of His swirling mystery, He said,
"You must prove yourself to yourself".
One of the great mysteries of Holiness that I ponder is God's sovereignty and the matter of man's free will. Who can understand all the evil that humanity conjures up and inflicts on each other. Where does the Lord's sovereignty and intervention start and end in the issues of this temporal life?
Such a deep subject to start the morning, but it's one that drives my curiosity and runs just under the surface of my conscious thoughts. The Lord knows my struggle and broaches the subject with me. It is always an open ended discussion in that while there are pieces added to the puzzle, it's never quite finished, so mysterious are His ways.
I enjoy our early morning conferences and, in fact, I live to know more about the magnitude of my God and His creative Genius. I wonder about His wisdom in granting His creation free will, especially when I see how man uses it. I am particularly interested in understanding if God himself ever over-rules our free will.
Looking back over my life, I see that I have had freedom to choose, but only from among the choices of "fate" AKA, God's Divine provision, that He made available. If God is in ultimate control as the ultimate Sovereign Authority, I must acknowledge that He orchestrates what choices I have available and permits me to use my freedom therein.
Outside of time and space, God sees the end from the beginning. My choice in a husband was mine to make in free will, but only from among those He orchestrated to enter my life. He knew in advance who I would choose, but I didn't. In all matters of life and the choices I make, I am learning about myself. He already knows me, but throughout my life, part of the the deep challenge is for me to get to know myself.
I am not in a place of having to prove myself to the One who knows every cell in my body and every hair on my head. I am honestly in a place of proving myself to myself, like an athlete who competes with his own record and not that of anyone else.
The Creator watches over the process, permitting the trials and choices available through them, to hone me. The goal is for me to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, the One in whose image I was originally created.
True and completely free will is for one purpose: To accept or reject Jesus Christ, the Only begotten Son of God as the pathway back to the Creator and into the heart relationship He offered after the fall.
The Holy Spirit sometimes teases my mind with fragments of thoughts that challenge me to chase after His wisdom. Today, in the midst of His swirling mystery, He said,
"You must prove yourself to yourself".
One of the great mysteries of Holiness that I ponder is God's sovereignty and the matter of man's free will. Who can understand all the evil that humanity conjures up and inflicts on each other. Where does the Lord's sovereignty and intervention start and end in the issues of this temporal life?
Such a deep subject to start the morning, but it's one that drives my curiosity and runs just under the surface of my conscious thoughts. The Lord knows my struggle and broaches the subject with me. It is always an open ended discussion in that while there are pieces added to the puzzle, it's never quite finished, so mysterious are His ways.
I enjoy our early morning conferences and, in fact, I live to know more about the magnitude of my God and His creative Genius. I wonder about His wisdom in granting His creation free will, especially when I see how man uses it. I am particularly interested in understanding if God himself ever over-rules our free will.
Looking back over my life, I see that I have had freedom to choose, but only from among the choices of "fate" AKA, God's Divine provision, that He made available. If God is in ultimate control as the ultimate Sovereign Authority, I must acknowledge that He orchestrates what choices I have available and permits me to use my freedom therein.
Outside of time and space, God sees the end from the beginning. My choice in a husband was mine to make in free will, but only from among those He orchestrated to enter my life. He knew in advance who I would choose, but I didn't. In all matters of life and the choices I make, I am learning about myself. He already knows me, but throughout my life, part of the the deep challenge is for me to get to know myself.
I am not in a place of having to prove myself to the One who knows every cell in my body and every hair on my head. I am honestly in a place of proving myself to myself, like an athlete who competes with his own record and not that of anyone else.
The Creator watches over the process, permitting the trials and choices available through them, to hone me. The goal is for me to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, the One in whose image I was originally created.
True and completely free will is for one purpose: To accept or reject Jesus Christ, the Only begotten Son of God as the pathway back to the Creator and into the heart relationship He offered after the fall.
God already knows the choice we will make but we don't. Everyone who has been born of the flesh is given the same choice and the freedom to make it, therefore all men are without an excuse.
I still had this lingering question of His Divine Hand and where the choices of others might impact His will for my life or the lives of His people called by His Name. Abraham was one of His people and the Holy One takes me back to his life in Genesis 20.
Abraham was called by God and he answered the call. His choice was sound. He became God's friend. But Abraham was not perfect and dealt with flesh issues just like we do. During his life journey, and from the account in Genesis 20, we read that he buckled to his fears and even sold out his wife Sarah, telling a foreign king that she was his sister and not his covenant wife.
Back in those days, kings had harems and a multitude of wives, but not God's chosen. Abraham had but one wife, Sarah, yet he chose to forsake her in fear for his own life. That was Abraham's free, however horrifying, will.
So, did God leave Abraham to the utter devastation of his free will and the cowardice therein? Did God just watch from a distance and not intervene for the beloved couple?
Genesis 20:3, "But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as a dead man because of the woman you have taken. She is a married woman". The king countered with his confession that he had been deceived into thinking the woman was a sister not a wife.
I still had this lingering question of His Divine Hand and where the choices of others might impact His will for my life or the lives of His people called by His Name. Abraham was one of His people and the Holy One takes me back to his life in Genesis 20.
Abraham was called by God and he answered the call. His choice was sound. He became God's friend. But Abraham was not perfect and dealt with flesh issues just like we do. During his life journey, and from the account in Genesis 20, we read that he buckled to his fears and even sold out his wife Sarah, telling a foreign king that she was his sister and not his covenant wife.
Back in those days, kings had harems and a multitude of wives, but not God's chosen. Abraham had but one wife, Sarah, yet he chose to forsake her in fear for his own life. That was Abraham's free, however horrifying, will.
So, did God leave Abraham to the utter devastation of his free will and the cowardice therein? Did God just watch from a distance and not intervene for the beloved couple?
Genesis 20:3, "But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as a dead man because of the woman you have taken. She is a married woman". The king countered with his confession that he had been deceived into thinking the woman was a sister not a wife.
Genesis 20:6, "Then God said to him in the dream, "yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience and so I have kept you from sinning against me, That is why I have not let you touch her." Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet."
Abraham's failure and God's intervention are telling in a myriad of ways and I cherish the picture of each one. The fear of God truly does over-rule the fear of man and even the sub-conscious fear of self. Abraham's buckling was far from over and he even repeated this same betrayal, yet God's intervention never stopped.
While we inhabit our flesh bodies, the choices we have to make in our free will may not always be the best. I am thankful to see God's Sovereign intervention when a godly person blows it. And then there is the dream of the foreign king, and our fears for our unsaved loved ones. I see more questions beginning to surface in my mind for another day.
But this morning, as I come to a better understanding of my God, even in the matters of free will, I know we are all safe in His hands and I can focus on the greater purpose in the circumstances He ordains. Under His watchful eye, I can prove myself to myself and make necessary corrections when I fail.
Not all of my questions of the Holy One are answered in a day and the picture is not anywhere near complete, but here is one more piece I can add to the puzzle of my life.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
No comments:
Post a Comment