Sonrise

In the garden on the Mount of Olives, Judas led a crowd of angry men toward Jesus.  You know this account – it’s almost required reading at Eastertide. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Peter cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest, which, of course, the Lord immediately healed (Lk 22:47-53; Jn 18:10).  Before He is led away, Jesus, speaking to His arrestors says, “This is your hour–when darkness reigns (v. 53)”. Now, I’ve read this passage multiple times, but this time one word stood out to me. “Hour.” And the question came: What does that mean?  That is the signal from the Holy Spirit to start digging because there is something I need to discover. I live for these opportunities.

The Greek word for “hour” means “a moment; a short period; a fixed portion of time.” Jesus said that darkness had been given an hour to reign – but only an hour, a sliver of time. The darkness is, of course, evil. But even the power of evil was held to just a moment with a beginning and definite end. Just enough time to accomplish God’s divine purpose – salvation.

Who has sovereign authority over time?  Who established the rising and setting of the sun?  Who determined the seasons on earth?  Who made the sun stand still to prolong the day (Jos 10:1-14)? Who moved the sunlight backward ten steps to prove his power (Is 38:7-8)?

Is it dark in your life today? Does it seem that evil has the upper hand? Remember, darkness is only allowed a moment – a fixed portion of time. And only until God’s purpose is fulfilled. The same One who commands the sun holds the hourglass of your life and He will not allow darkness to reign one grain longer than necessary. Rest in His providence and care Beloved. The night will soon be over and the Son will reign forever.

Acts: The Plan of the Ages

I interviewed an atheist for a class assignment. While I asked my questions, he peppered me with his own. I remember one question clearly, even after so many years: “Why would a good God let His Son suffer and be killed on the whim of evil people?”

“He didn’t,” I replied.

“But isn’t that what your Christianity teaches?” he insisted.

“Not exactly,” I answered. “God didn’t let anything happen. He planned it and foretold it. Jesus’ death wasn’t by the whim of man. It was an intentional act of the sovereign God to fulfill His purpose – the salvation of men.”

He cocked his head to one side, “I’ve never heard it put that way.  My church always taught us kids that people acted of their own free will to kill Jesus.”

“They did,” I replied. “But they acted within the sovereign will of God.”

At that moment I felt like a salmon swimming up a waterfall, trying to explain a concept that has baffled the wisest theologians for ages. I still don’t understand it completely, but I know it is true. The Bible clearly teaches both and doesn’t try to make it neat and tidy.

Please take a moment to read Acts 3:17-26.

When Peter addressed the crowd that gathered around the once-crippled man, he invoked the name of Jesus as the source of healing power. The same Jesus they had crucified. The same Jesus God had raised from the dead. Peter said that they had “acted in ignorance,” not realizing that this Jesus was God’s Messiah (Christ). But Peter also said that God used their actions to fulfill His Plan of the Ages. God had foretold the suffering of His Servant through Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and all the prophets. He had promised salvation long before Jesus’ birth.

John wrote that Jesus is “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). Before the first human and the first sin. This was all within God’s eternal plan: the salvation of humanity. I once heard a preacher say that long before Jesus came to earth God knowingly planted the seed that would become the tree that would be made into the cross on which His Son would die.

I take great comfort in the truth of God’s sovereignty over the will of human beings. I am sitting in the middle of a family mess right now because of another’s free will choices. But I am convinced this did not occur outside of God’s sovereign plan. Somehow this too will fall in line with His “good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Rom 12:2). And when it does, there will be Joy.

In God’s Good Hands

“In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”               Ephesians 2:13

I caught myself the other day thinking, “If I could change one thing about my past…”  I’ll bet you can finish that sentence with a few thoughts of your own.  Who hasn’t lamented something in their past.  For some, the choices were huge and life altering.  For others, they were moments, that while not quite as monumental, we wish we could do over.  I have spent so much time living with regrets, living in the “if onlys,” and wishing I had made wiser decisions, or that circumstances had turned out differently.   I have discovered that when I live in constant regret I set myself up for a very sad life.

But I am learning to trust in the sovereign providence of God.  That is a really old-fashioned term, but in the original Hebrew, the word combination has a rich and significant meaning.  The word “sovereign” speaks to God’s rightful authority that extends over nature, nations, mankind, and individual lives.  Likewise, the word “providence” is speaking to God’s charge over you; the root word means “to pay attention, to care for, to be in charge of.”  Here is God’s tender, loving care that shows Him as “the Good Shepherd” and as our Heavenly Father.  God has pledged to pay attention to you, to care for you, and to be in charge of your life – not as a dictator – but as One who seeks always and only what is best for you.  Job 10:12 expresses this beautifully. “You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in Your providence watched over my spirit.”

The combination of terms tells us that God is always looking out on your behalf, knows what you need and He has the authority to move heaven and earth to accomplish all things for you – because He loves you.

Beloved, if you have grieved choices in your past, know that Your sovereign, providential Father has been watching over and caring for you all along.  In His hands the very thing that caused you the most pain can be the growing point for a whole new future.  Dear friend, God loves you too much to waste the struggles of your life.  He has a plan.  He has a purpose. And He has you in the palm of His great hand.