ASIDE from the several devotional books I frequent, I also get a daily email reading from “Grace Gems:” https://www.gracegems.org/. I truly value these daily missives. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about suffering and afflictions, and a “Grace Gems” I received yesterday truly spoke to me. I’ve decided to share it in today’s post, so here it is below. It is a little long so I’ll keep my introductory comments short, except to say that if you are not a subscriber to “Grace Gems,” you ought to be
In the inexorable riches of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10; Isa 30:15; Job 2:10; Jas. 1:2; Prov. 21:30
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I hope the brother will not pray that any more
By Charles Spurgeon, et al.
Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”
I used to want to know why the Lord does this and that with me. Blessed be His name, I am now resolved not to question Him any more in that fashion.
Somebody prayed the other day, that I might see the reason why the Lord has lately afflicted me. I hope the brother will not pray that any more, for I do not want to know the Lord’s reasons. Why should I? I know that He has done all for my good and His glory, and I will not dishonor Him by questioning Him and wanting Him to explain Himself to a poor worm.
This is where the mischief has been with most of us, that we have wanted to know the Lord’s reasons for this and that. Why should we? If God conceals a thing, then let us be content to leave it concealed.
A servant was passing through a street with a dish that was fully covered. A fellow met him and said, “I would love to know what your master has in that dish, for he has so carefully covered it.” But the servant said, “Seeing that he has so carefully covered it, it is clear that it is no business of yours or mine.”
In the same way, whenever a providence puzzles you, then take it as a sign that the Lord does not mean you to understand it, and be content to receive it in faith.
When we are in the furnace of affliction, our hearts ache for answers:
Why this sickness?
Why that loss?
Why this death?
Why this trial?
We long for the “why” and “wherefore” behind God’s providential dealings with us, especially when He brings us through a thorny and hurtful path. Yet here God draws a line in the sand: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”
The “secret things” include the precise purposes of His sovereign plan. His providence is never chaotic or unwise, but He rarely unfolds His reasons. He owes us no explanations for His sovereign workings. To demand them is to demand His throne.
We cannot trace His providential hand in His inscrutable dealings with us; but we can always trust His loving heart to us, His redeemed and adopted children!
The Scriptures clearly declare His unchanging character: that He is good (Psalm 119:68), wise (Romans 11:33), and sovereign over every detail (Matthew 10:29-31).
His Word teaches us that our suffering is never wasted, but used to conform us to His beloved Son (Romans 8:28-29). We can even rejoice in our sufferings, “for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (Romans 5:3-4)
Soon we will see that not a single thread in our tangled story was misplaced in His tapestry. Until then, we are to live by faith, and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
We must ever realize that God is the divine Potter, and we are simply the clay in His omnipotent hands. His thoughts, His plans, and His ways, are profound–utterly beyond the reach of our childlike comprehension.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9
“Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” Romans 11:33-34
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Final note: If you care to read it, Grace Gems also published an excellent two page summary of “The Secret and Revealed Will of God.”
