God's Land of Mystery

 

The End of U.S.? -- Part 6

 

The End of U.S.? -- Part 5

 

The End of U.S.? -- Part 4

 

When God Doesn't Act Like God -- Part 5

The patriarch Job summed up the mysterious ways of God as, "Whatever His soul desires, that He does."(Job 28:13), or simply "God does what He pleases". God doing what He pleases means He is free to move and act in and out of character. The ultimate test for us can be when God is acting out of character, in an unexpected and strange way. When God doesn't act like Himself, or do what we'd expect from Him, it ultimately motivates us and moves us to seek after Him and find Him in a new way. It also helps us to see what is really in our own hearts, which may not always be evident, since the heart of man is deceiving and difficult to know(Jeremiah 17:9).

In times like this we also learn to stand in faith. If we are going to walk this great path, and walk with Jesus to the end, and with a God Who at times doesn't act like Himself, we're going to have to learn how to stand. Remember, we can never walk well until first we've learned to stand! Every parent knows their child must learn to stand before they can learn to walk. Perhaps the reason some find it difficult to walk consistently with Jesus is they've never learned to really stand. Finishing strong and finishing well require having to stand when it appears as if God's promise, His word, and His intentions are not trustworthy or valid.

King Saul was told by the prophet Samuel that if he ever needed to hear from God, to go to Gilgal(the place of the altar) and "Wait for seven days, until I arrive and tell you what to do."(1 Samuel 10:8 NET). These were the agreed-upon instructions, his promise or word to Saul. Two years later Saul followed that word to the letter and "he waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal."(1 Samuel 13:8 NET). So Saul acted presumptuously in his absence and ended up losing his destiny in the process. His reasoning obviously was..."You didn't do what you said you would, when you said you would". As a representative of God, Samuel was acting out of character as he did not do what was expected of him. (Note: you will want to read on your own how this story resolves itself, for just when Saul thought Samuel had abandoned him and was not to be trusted, Samuel appeared to him.)

David returned to his town Ziklag only to discover it had been plundered and burned by his enemy, with his entire family taken prisoner and all his possessions stolen. Suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him. But David strengthened himself with trust in his God(1 Samuel 30:6). Where was his trust? It was in this..."Our God is in heaven and He does what He pleases."(Psalm 115:2-3). David stood upon the integrity and veracity of his God. That devastating disappointment was more than enough to finish him off, but from a place of renewed faith he sought God in that moment and then rose up to go after all that belonged to him in God. In the end he recovered all.

Job said, "Even if He slays me, I will still trust Him."(Job 13:15). When God Doesn't Act Like God, He is teaching us how to stand and trust Him no matter what may come. Will you stand in your place of faith even when your God is silent, distant, mysterious or unaccounted for at that moment? It's the right response. Oh, and don't forget, even When God Doesn't Act Like God, He is still God!...He's still your God!

When God Doesn't Act Like God -- Part 4

Remember what Job said about God? "Whatever His soul desires, that He does."(28:13 NKJV). Or simply restated, "God does what He pleases." This is based on the fact that God knows all there is to know; He knows more than we do; and He knows best...even when we think differently! Doing as He pleases means He is free to move in and out of character. The ultimate test for us is always when God is acting out of character rather than in character.

Why does He do that? One reason is so we will continue to seek after Him and pursue Him. Another reason is so we can see ourselves and what's in our own heart. It was said of King Hezekiah, "God left him on his own to see what he would do; He wanted to test his heart."(2 Chronicles 32:31 TM). "This is a test! And there's no talking or contact while taking the test!" That's the way we normally take tests. And remember, when God stepped out of character with Job, He did not talk to him during the entire test!

So what exactly is in Hezekiah's heart? Up to this point it's not been clear. You would've thought it might have been gratitude, humility, and honor since he has just been miraculously healed, but miracles don't determine what's in our heart; miracles don't determine the level of our commitment. This anointed king had a character flaw, a blindspot, something that could rob him of his destiny, but he didn't realize it. But God does because He knows more, He knows all, and He sees beneath the surface and beyond the present.

King David was worshiping and thanking God with the Ark until his friend Uzza was struck down for touching the Ark. David exclaimed in the Psalms, "I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd, right out in front, leading them all, eager to arrive and worship shouting praises, singing thanksgiving--celebrating, all of us!(42:4 TM). But on that day David stopped worshiping and became angry with God and left the Ark behind! You see, as long as God is only my valet, butler, financier, problem-solver, answer man, way maker, miracle worker, and fix-it man...my heart is never truly revealed. Just like in the family...if you only ever do what totally pleases your children, you will never know what's really in their hearts! David asks, "Where is God?" more than once in the Psalms. His final answer to this plaguing question turned out to be, "Why do people ask, 'Where is their God?'. Our God is in heaven. He does what He pleases."(115:2-3 NCV).

Jesus put some distance between Himself and His disciples on the road back to Capernaum, and sure enough, what was really in their hearts began to come forth...an argument over which one was the greatest among them. Once they arrived in Capernaum Jesus asked them, "'What were you discussing on the road?' The silence was deafening--they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest."(Mark 9:33-34 TM) or to put it another way, "which one of them was the most important person."(NIRV).

When God Doesn't Act Like God, and we seem momentarily left on our own, we see more clearly what's in our own heart just as King Hezekiah did. And seeing it allows us to then face it and forsake it by His grace. Let's explore this further in Part 5.

The End of U.S.? -- Part 3