Understanding God's Ways

God focuses on what lasts.

Jeremiah was upset with God. He asked:

“Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?” (Jeremiah 12:1).

God did not give him a clear answer. Instead, He told him that more confusing things were coming. God answered Jeremiah’s question with a question:

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5).

The wicked prosper because what men see as success is not the same as what God sees. God can give what men give, and sometimes He does. But men cannot give what God gives. The success that comes from men is temporary. But God’s success lasts forever.

It is like the current trend of hitting the gym. Paul says instead:

“Exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8).

Men give what only matters in this life. But God gives what matters now and in the life to come.

Different Blessings

Jesus says:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).

Everything that people value can be taken away, destroyed, or lost. But what belongs to God cannot be harmed. Solomon says:

“I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

God’s blessings last forever, while those from men are temporary. This means that human blessings can be lost and losing them can bring pain. But,

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22).

The riches of this world must be let go.

“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” (1 Timothy 6:7).

This means the riches of this world are fake. They are illusions.

“For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:5).

True riches must be eternal. They only come from God.

Habakkuk’s Dilemma

Habakkuk faced a dilemma like Jeremiah’s. He asked God: “Why are things so bad and You do nothing?” “How can things be this bad when You are so good?”

God did not explain. Instead, He told Habakkuk, “Just wait. I am going to make things so much worse.”

Kingdom dynamics refer to God’s strange ways. Sometimes, we can understand why God does things the way He does. But He does not owe us any explanation. The key thing is to know how He operates and accept it.

With God, expect surprises. Expect the extraordinary. What is normal is from men. God can do ordinary things. But He does this to please men. His true specialty is the extraordinary. God can do what man does. But man cannot do the amazing things God does.

Also, if we deserve what we get, then it is unlikely to come from God. God gives what we do not deserve. He says:

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” (Exodus 33:19).

Solomon gives more insight into this peculiar nature:

“The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

So, with God, be ready to receive what you don’t deserve.

If you easily understand what is happening and why, then it is likely from men. But if it does not make sense, then it is more likely from God. So, don’t be shocked if things happen that exceed your understanding.

Believe all things. (1 Cor 13:7). This means to expect the best in all situations, whether good or bad. God works all things together for the good of His children. (Romans 8:28). So, in everything, give thanks. (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Forget the Past

Kingdom dynamics prove God’s work. They show us that the invisible God is active. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36). So, His actions will be different. They will be remarkable. If they were ordinary, they could easily have been made by men. But because they are unique, they clearly do not come from this world.

Do not let the past hold you back. The past is not a guide for the present. God says:

“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19).

Do not complain like the Israelites in the wilderness if there is no water. God can bring water from the desert. He even brought water from a rock. Job remembered this amazing work of God. He recalled a time:

“When (his) steps through rich pasturage were washed with butter, and the rock poured out for (him) streams of oil!” (Job 29:6).

God is a God of originality. No two things from God are alike. No two fingerprints or irises are the same.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But He is the same in that He always does new things, not that He only does the same things.

Therefore, Paul says:

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Disregard the Flesh

Paul also advises:

“From now on, regard no one according to the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

This is why many people missed Christ. He came in the flesh but was fully divine.

According to the flesh, Jesus seemed ordinary. He was born in a manger to very poor parents. His parents could not afford a lamb as a sacrifice for their firstborn. They had to use the poor man’s substitute of a pair of turtledoves. (Luke 2:22-24). (Leviticus 12:8).

Jesus came from Nazareth, a place not even on the map. When Philip told Nathanael about Him, he asked:

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:44).

Jesus did not go to school. He did not graduate from a seminary. This puzzled the Jewish religious leaders. They wondered:

“How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” (John 7:15).

But degrees and credentials matter only in the world. They do not matter in God’s kingdom. God chooses the unqualified and the disqualified.

Paul says:

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

When Amos was questioned about his background, he said to Amaziah:

“I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheep breeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel. Now therefore, hear the word of the Lord: You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not spout against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; your land shall be divided by survey line; you shall die in a defiled land.” (Amos 7:14-17).

The Blind Eye

Don’t trust only what you see, feel, or touch. That was the first challenge I faced in my relationship with God. He told me nothing would happen to me, and then I was shot. A bullet was stuck in my leg, but He insisted there was nothing wrong with my leg.

The naked eye cannot see what God is doing. So:

“Do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

To truly see, we must be blind. Jesus says:

“For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” (John 9:39).

When God sent Samuel to anoint a son of Jesse as king of Israel, He warned him:

“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Children of God must learn to appreciate the beauty of holiness. (2 Chronicles 20:21).