–J.V. James (Old)
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
–Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
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I was getting ready for church this past Sunday when I heard a relatively old song. It made me take time to pause for a moment and ponder briefly the words. We have come recently through the Easter season and all its meaning and ramifications. However, we cannot grasp the whole. The same is true for the Incarnation. We believe, but we cannot fully grasp. Death, we do not really understand it. We know it happens but how does one pass through the veil? Let’s take time to contemplate this song by Stuart Hamblen.
Known only to Him are the great hidden secrets,
I’ll fear not the darkness when my flame shall dim.
I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future,
It’s a secret known only to Him.
Because of Christ, we do not fear when our time comes. We do not fear what tomorrow might bring. There is a characteristic of God, mysterious, unknowing, but comforting–His omnipresence and omniscience. He is already in tomorrow and will guide us into it, so we do not have to fear. It’s a secret to us, but not to Him.
We don’t understand why we have problems. Why does this person seem to go through life without any seeming worries, while you face sickness and suffering all the time? I don’t understand and neither do you. Job didn’t understand what was going on in the spiritual realm between God and Satan. But through it all, God is with us and promises to take care of us.
In this world of fear and doubt on my knees I ask the question,
Why a lonely, heavy cross I must bear?
Then He tells me in my prayer, it’s because I am trustworthy,
He gives me strength for more than my share.
We are told to pick up our cross and follow Him. Your cross is different from mine, yet we are told to pick it up. It seems that we think often, “why?” but we do not consider other alternatives, such as Job. Perhaps you have that cross that is so heavy to bear because He trusts you to carry it. He has found you trustworthy here, in the present–today. He’ll give you and me the strength to bear what He has allowed to come our way.
Don’t let the devil trick you into wondering why? He is a deceiver and he’ll get to you thinking of the “whys of life” rather than focusing on the Who of life. God knows each of us; He knows each step we’ll take. He is there through every trial, every temptation, every pain and heartache. He knows! We don’t know the secrets of the universe, but we know Who is the Creator. Trust Him, obey Him, and go through life knowing that thought, we do not know the future–He does.
I was getting ready for church this past Sunday when I heard a relatively old song. It made me take time to pause for a moment and ponder briefly the words. We have come recently through the Easter season and all its meaning and ramifications. However, we cannot grasp the whole. The same is true for the Incarnation. We believe, but we cannot fully grasp. Death, we do not really understand it. We know it happens but how does one pass through the veil? Let’s take time to contemplate this song by Stuart Hamblen.
Known only to Him are the great hidden secrets,
I’ll fear not the darkness when my flame shall dim.
I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future,
It’s a secret known only to Him.
Because of Christ, we do not fear when our time comes. We do not fear what tomorrow might bring. There is a characteristic of God, mysterious, unknowing, but comforting–His omnipresence and omniscience. He is already in tomorrow and will guide us into it, so we do not have to fear. It’s a secret to us, but not to Him.
We don’t understand why we have problems. Why does this person seem to go through life without any seeming worries, while you face sickness and suffering all the time? I don’t understand and neither do you. Job didn’t understand what was going on in the spiritual realm between God and Satan. But through it all, God is with us and promises to take care of us.
In this world of fear and doubt on my knees I ask the question,
Why a lonely, heavy cross I must bear?
Then He tells me in my prayer, it’s because I am trustworthy,
He gives me strength for more than my share.
We are told to pick up our cross and follow Him. Your cross is different from mine, yet we are told to pick it up. It seems that we think often, “why?” but we do not consider other alternatives, such as Job. Perhaps you have that cross that is so heavy to bear because He trusts you to carry it. He has found you trustworthy here, in the present–today. He’ll give you and me the strength to bear what He has allowed to come our way.
Don’t let the devil trick you into wondering why? He is a deceiver and he’ll get to you thinking of the “whys of life” rather than focusing on the Who of life. God knows each of us; He knows each step we’ll take. He is there through every trial, every temptation, every pain and heartache. He knows! We don’t know the secrets of the universe, but we know Who is the Creator. Trust Him, obey Him, and go through life knowing that thought, we do not know the future–He does.