As I had my quiet time this morning, I was grieving over the schism in my church and the Lord was gentle to remind me that for over a year now we have had a small group of men meeting every Tuesday morning to pray for revival for our church. The events which have unfolded are not what I had in mind when I thought of revival. But then God’s wisdom is so high above mine. The Lord reminded me of these confounding ways of His: barren Sarah is mother to a nation; Gideon’s 300 men defeat 100,000 Midianites; a little shepherd boy slays the giant; the prophet is married to the adulteress; through the hatred of politicians as well as the hordes, and the shame of a naked man's death on a cross, God saves His people. I was reminded of Job, who attributed the evil that crushed his children to death to the hand of the Lord. He said, “Shall I receive good at the hand of the Lord and not evil?” And the writer confirms that in all that Job said he did not sin against the Lord.
I was reminded also of a verse from William Cowper's great hymn "God moves in a mysterious way":
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace,
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
God bless you today, and God help us to think rightly about His goodness toward us. Please pray for my church.
