(Jer 29:11 KJV) For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil,
to give you an expected end.
How many times have you heard that this world is out of control?
Sometimes it may seem that way with all the planned wars for profit, crime,
drugs, alcohol, sexual crimes, divorces, financial catastrophes, natural
catastrophes, etc. If we were to focus on the events of this world it could
become a source for depression. If we filter these events through the
omnipotence of God, then we will realize that everything this world is
enduring right now is under His total control and there is no such thing as
anything under God’s control being out of control.
One of the great mistakes we make is that we view things from our
perspective and that is the perspective of fallen man. If we begin to view
things through the eyes of God, then we will realize whatever is happening
is totally planned. There were many in the Bible who underwent situations
which seemed to be very contradictory to the nature of God and may have
perplexed them. Let us look at some of the Biblical characters who underwent
these times of blind trials from their point of view and did not understand
what was happening.
Noah
(Gen 6:14 KJV) Make thee an ark of gopher
wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and
without with pitch.
Man had become very corrupt and God had pronounced that the end of all
flesh was before Him. Noah had found grace in the eyes of the Lord and God
commanded Noah to make an ark. Now up to this point in history, there was no
such thing as a flood because the earth was watered by a rising mist but the
sins of man were very great and God was going to destroy evil man. Now for
120 years Noah had built the ark according to the specifications which God
gave him but did he really understand the reason for this undertaking? Did
Noah really understand the reality that after he finished the ark, the
animals would be brought to him to place on the ark and then when the
animals and his family were safe aboard the ark, then the deluge came. Now
up until the time the ark was completed, Noah had faithfully executed the
Lord’s commands.
(Gen 6:22 KJV) Thus did
Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Noah did it on faith because he himself had never seen
what the Lord had promised and that was a flood. God had promised a certain
thing and it came to pass at the appointed time.
Abraham
(Gen 12:1 KJV) Now the LORD had said unto
Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:
Here Abram was told by God to leave his native country to go to a land
that God would show him.
(Gen 12:4 KJV)
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him:
and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of
Haran. Now Abram departed according to the word of
the Lord and at this point God did not tell him exactly where he was going.
Abram was heading to an uncertain land because he had no idea where he was
to settle down. Yet, all the while it was a certainty in God’s plan that
Abraham would be the progenitor of the nation of Israel through whom the
Lord Jesus Christ would come. To leave the land of Haran was a very
uncertain thing to do, yet from God’s point of view, it was a certainty
which would affect the lives of billions in the future through the Lord
Jesus Christ. God sees our lives from beginning to end, yet He only reveals
it to us in small amounts.
Joseph
(Gen 39:1 KJV) And Joseph was brought down
to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an
Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him
down thither.
There was probably no one who had faced uncertainty more intensely than
Joseph. Joseph was not only harshly treated by his brethren but they sold
him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. How uncertain would that be in your
life because in those days, slaves were nothing more than chattel and Joseph
had faced the possibility of displeasing his master and then face torture
and execution. Joseph could not see beyond each day as to what was happening
in his life. Yet, the uncertainties which seemed to be prevalent from
Joseph’s point of view were certainties in God’s eyes. Joseph had gained
favor in the sight of Potiphar and just when things seemed to be going right
for him, Potiphar’s wife had falsely accused him of sexual advances and he
was then thrown into prison. It seemed that with all Joseph had done, he now
had to start over again. Here was another uncertainty in the life of Joseph
but God’s plan for him was well under way. After being in the prison for
while, Joseph had now gained favor with the warden of the prison.
(Gen 39:21 KJV) But the LORD was with Joseph,
and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the
prison. It was in the prison where Joseph would
make the divine connection which God planned for him.
If he would have still been at Potiphar’s house, he would never have met
the Chief Baker and Chief Butler in the prison. The Chief Baker was hanged
but it was through the Chief Butler where Joseph would be introduced to
Pharaoh, but not for another two years. Then at that time God gave Pharaoh
the dreams of the impending famine in Egypt and now God was about to exalt
Joseph because he was faithful to God in all the uncertainties that he faced
and yet it was all the certainty of God.
(Gen 41:39-40 KJV) And Pharaoh said unto
Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so
discreet and wise as thou art: {40} Thou shalt be over my house, and
according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne
will I be greater than thou. Always keep in mind
that facing uncertainty in the will of God is a definite certainty in the
plan of God. Even in uncertain times, Joseph was faithful to God especially
in the times he did not understand what was happening but his faithfulness
yielded him one of the most prestigious positions in all of Egypt. Do you
think Joseph would have attained that position if he yelled and blamed God
for all the seemingly bad things which happened to him? I think we know the
answer to that. Sometimes God keeps us in a state of uncertainty until we
completely trust Him and then when the dross of faithlessness is gone, He
can then work His plan.
Naomi
(Ruth 1:3-5 KJV) And Elimelech Naomi's
husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. {4} And they took
them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and
the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. {5}
And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of
her two sons and her husband.
Here have Naomi who had lost her husband and her two sons. It was a
great time of uncertainty for her because in ancient times, widows were
considered a lower class of people in the social order plus superstitions
ran rampant and Naomi could have been considered one who was cursed. She did
not know that these three deaths would cause her to go back to Israel and
with her went Ruth. Neither of them knew what awaited them when they
returned. It was another time of great uncertainty, all the while God was
working out His plan in Ruth’s life. Sometimes God’s plan is worked out in
the lives of one we know but we have a great part in that plan. If Naomi did
not go back to Israel, then Ruth may have gone back to Moab. Ruth had a love
for Naomi and wanted to be by her side. So Ruth accompanied Naomi back to
Israel where uncertainties had awaited for Ruth since Moab was an ancient
enemy of Israel. Ruth had no idea that she would find favor in the sight of
Boaz and that they would get married and through their lineage would come
David and the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a great time of uncertainty for Ruth
but when God’s plan began to unfold, it was a time of Divine certainty.
During the entire time, even during the tragedies Naomi suffered, God’s plan
was slowly being unfolded in her life.
David
(1 Sam 16:1 KJV) And the LORD said unto
Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from
reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to
Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
God had rejected Saul as King of Israel and commanded Samuel to go to
Jesse and anoint his son David as the next King of Israel. For quite a
number of years David was on the run from Saul because Saul sought to kill
him. It was a time of uncertainty for David because one day he was anointed
King of Israel and the next he was on the run from Saul as a fugitive. All
the while this was the plan of God unfolding in the life of David as David
exercised great faith in God while he was on the run and learned many
spiritual principles.
(1 Sam 17:36 KJV)
Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised
Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the
living God. David had seen the armies of Israel as
not just physical armies but it was the armies of the living God. David was
viewing this from God’s point of view while others were viewing it from
man’s point of view. (1 Sam 24:6 KJV)
And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto
my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him,
seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. Saul
had pursued David and David had a perfect opportunity to kill Saul and take
the throne, however, he was learning that God had placed Saul on the throne
and it was not his place to usurp God’s authority. When Saul’s time was
finished, God would remove him and place David on the throne. We must
remember that the Lord’s timing is not our timing. David had to learn many
things before he took the throne officially. It was God’s certainty that
David would be king, but it was also God’s timing and during that time
period, it may carry many seeming uncertainties yet they are all certainties
in God’s plan.
Job
(Job 1:18-19 KJV) While he was yet
speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters
were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: {19}
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the
four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are
dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Probably when it comes to personal suffering no one is more famous than
Job. He had lost his family, flocks, and servants. It was a great time of
uncertainty for Job because in that time, calamity on that scale would have
meant that you had become an enemy of God and that is why you suffered like
that. Yet this was all in God’s plan and it was a certainty with God that
Job was not to be forsaken but only to be tested. Job had no idea that there
was a spiritual battle going on in Heaven at that time between God and
Satan. Satan thought he could bring Job to the point of cursing God but God
knew that Job would do no such thing.
(Job 1:22 KJV) In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Job suffered the greatest loss a human can suffer and
that was loss of all ten of his children, yet, he did not blame God or make
any accusations against Him. Job was a saved man and kept his testimony
during the entire ordeal. All the uncertainties that Job would face at the
hands of his four friends was yet ahead of him and even through their
erroneous counsel, Job kept his testimony. The uncertainties Job faced on a
natural and human scale, were the certainties of God who upheld His servant
during this time of testing. Job was not forsaken, although it looked like
it, but he did not have the information we have about what went on behind
the scenes.
Summary
We have looked at six individuals from the Scriptures who at times in
their lives had faced uncertainties. It seemed like circumstances which were
beyond their control would turn out to their detriment and yet, those very
uncertainties according to their point of view, were all God’s certainties
that turned out for the good of the individuals and had also affected for
the good those around them. Whenever we face uncertain times in our life, we
must realize that as children of God, He will be working something in our
lives. Every aspect of our lives are under the control of God and even
though multiple trials may hit any of us at one time, they will never cause
our life to go out of control, even though it may seem it is and that we
could possibly take no more. As God guided the trials of the six we saw, all
of their endings were to the glory of God. As we face trials, God will guide
us through them and bring us out victoriously.
(Psa 48:14 KJV) For this God is our God
for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
Trials are a part of the life of every believer but it is
how we approach those trials will determine how long we will be in the
furnace of affliction and the outcome of those trials. If we follow the
principles of the six, we will see one overriding theme among them and that
was their faith in God never wavered, even though they were not sure what
was happening in their lives. If we continue to have faith in God during
times of trials, then everything else will fall into place in God’s timing.