WEDNESDAY 12th
Psalm 115
Perfection
NIV (v3) ‘Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.’
ESV (v3) ‘Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.’
This verse should give to every believer wonderful hope in knowing that the true and living God who always does what he pleases is the one who is in control of our lives, he has our future in his hands. As we surrender our lives over to him, we can be assured that God never makes a mistake, he never makes a blunder, he is perfect in all his ways . . . therefore he will work out perfectly every little detail concerning our lives, we can rest in the words that the apostle Paul penned, ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’ (Romans 8:28)
When we go back into the Old Testament, we can trace the hand of God upon individuals and upon nations, in particular Israel, and we see how God led them, directed them and even disciplined them, but in it all and through it all he was bringing about that which was his perfect will and his perfect ways, because he can and does do whatsoever pleases him. (and he hasn’t finished with Israel, God is still working his purpose out for them as a people and as a nation) Even Job who went through the most depressing of trials and circumstances came to the conclusion that God can do all things, and not one of his plans can be thwarted, and you can imagine Job thinking to himself ‘what is this all about’ as he was going through the trials, and yet he didn’t give up hope, he trusted in God and he knew that whatever the outcome, the day would come that he would stand in the presence of his Redeemer, such was his confidence in God and in God having the right to do that which he pleases.
I have looked back over my life and recalled times when I have questioned ‘Why?’ when certain things have happened, from my own point of view I couldn’t understand, but as I look back I can see the hand of God was at work, he was doing that which he was pleased to do, to perfect or to bring to completion that which he had purposed and still has purpose for in my life. We rest in the omniscience of God, he knows all things, he knows the end from the beginning, therefore we trust him, we allow him to rule in our lives, knowing that he not only knows the future, but he holds us by the hand as he takes us through it as we learn each day to trust him more and more.
In the Bible references next to Romans 8:28 in the Bible software I use there are links to two other verses, Ezra 8:22 and Ecclesiastes 8:12, ‘The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.’ ‘Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.’
I am reminded of the words of the well-known hymn, ‘Whatever my lot, you have taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’’
Let us renew our confidence in God today, knowing that he does whatever he pleases, and he will work out everything according to his will and purpose in our lives as we learn to trust him fully.
‘For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.’ (Deuteronomy 32:3–4)