God does nothing??
Quote #1. "God does nothing on earth, save in answer to prayer" John Wesley
"Nothing"- is a pretty strong word. Things like this make me stop and say 'hmmm....' I am trying to decide if I believe this.....
Quote #2. "God chose, from the time of creation, to work through humans, not independent of them. Though God is sovereign and all powerful, Scripture clearly tells us that He limited Himself, concerning the affairs of the earth, to working through human beings." Dutch Sheets
We have trouble, I think, seeing God as one who limits himself. We see God as one who does what he pleases, when he pleases, how he pleases. But then, we have trouble reconciling that with the chaos we see in the world around us. If he does what he pleases, when he pleases, how he pleases, then, all the chaos that we see must be 'what' he pleases. But this can't be true, can it?
To think that he could do something about it, but chooses not to, makes us wonder about the truth of his 'good and perfect and pleasing will.' This chaos does not appear to be any of the three; good, perfect, or pleasing. We have been taught not to question God about this. But, secretly, in places we don’t talk about, we’ve been angry with him. We have been taught that our judgement about 'good and evil' is faulty (my mental jury is still out on this point...) How do we reconcile this? We have chosen to believe that God does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, He is sovereign, therefore, if we follow this through, the chaos must be what he wants. We have chosen to believe that what he wants is 'good' (however foreign that concept is to our sense of right and wrong), so we have no choice, if we add these two thoughts together, but to declare the chaos good. (the other choice of course, is to stick our heads in the sand…to refuse to think, refuse to question, and just be led along the garden path…)
But, WHATIF.... we have a God who, though he is sovereign, limits himself? To what does he limit himself? To the will of man! (Not that the man necessarily chooses/wills the chaos, but that he insists on living independant of God, refuses to surrender to him, refuses to 'listen to instruction', which, as a result, leads to chaos) The thought of this is overwhelming! But I cannot doubt the truth of it. It changes everything!!! It reconciles everything...doesn't it?? Yes?? No??? Don't answer too quickly... It's a big question.
Or, maybe it's not a big question...
Maybe you've never had trouble reconciling a 'good, sovereign' God with the chaos you see around you. Maybe you've never been asked to believe that: this not-good, not-pleasing, not-perfect thing that is happening is the 'path he has chosen for me to walk.' Maybe you've never been asked to believe that: if God doesn't heal you of a disease the first (or the 21st) time you ask, the disease must be his will. He is sovereign after all... if he wanted to heal you he would. The fact that he hasn’t healed me proves that he doesn’t want to, that it is not his will to do so. I've heard these words. These, too: "if it's not his will to heal me, then I will simply learn to live with this... I can do that! It's no big deal... who am I to question God?? He does what he wants!"
I have been asked to believe that sometimes,... most times, actually... sickness and disease is (or at the very least, could be) God's will. The plans he has for me, to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me hope and a future, actually look like the plans to give me cancer, chronic pain, bankruptcy, a lifeless marriage, and children who despair of life. (Not that I have any of these things... they are just examples of things I've heard...not wanting to start any rumors!) I've been asked to accept these things as from the hand of God. The reason it doesn't fit with my view of 'good, perfect, & pleasing' is because my judgement is faulty. I have been asked (by way of this type of reasoning) to believe that: what I perceive to be bad is, in fact, good, because God is good, and God is all.
I'm not buying it.
{I know it seems like I've shifted gears... like I've switched from one subject to another but I’m not sure I have. I get confused. I know what I’m thinking, but not sure how to write it out. }
First reason I’m not buying it: if this type of reasoning is correct… what then would be the point of praying? If God does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, then what’s the point? How could my feeble utterance make any difference at all? Second reason: if this type of reasoning is correct, it completely negates the work of the devil, whom we have been told has plots and schemes to steal, kill, and destroy, and prowls around like a hungry lion. Why would we need to be on guard against the devil if he could do nothing at all to us, or, on the reverse, we could do nothing to resist him? If everything that happened was God’s will, his good and perfect and pleasing will, then who is this devil, this father of lies, this wolf in sheep’s clothing? Is he a tool of God? Is he, too, in the final analysis, good? And, …what about SIN? Does my own sin, or the sin of others, have any negative consequence? Or is my sin, too, part of God’s plan? His good and perfect will? We need to be careful how we think about these things!
But IF… God is a God who, though he IS sovereign, limits himself…., IF he is a God who ‘does nothing on earth, save in answer to prayer’, then the need for prayer is enormous! IF he has chosen, concerning the affairs of the earth, to limit himself to working through human beings’, then the need for me to offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, is enormous! Then, and only then, will we be able to test and approve what is the will of God, his good and pleasing and perfect will, and, on the reverse… what is NOT his will. I DO believe that there is such a thing as, NOT HIS WILL! I currently DO NOT believe that the chaos is His will. I DO NOT believe that the turmoil in my friend’s marriage, the loneliness, the despair, is the cross she has to bear. I DO NOT believe that sickness, disease, and pain is God’s PLAN for us.
We, as the body of Christ, have been commissioned to ‘heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and preach the good news to the poor." WHATIF…. we actually did?
"Nothing"- is a pretty strong word. Things like this make me stop and say 'hmmm....' I am trying to decide if I believe this.....
Quote #2. "God chose, from the time of creation, to work through humans, not independent of them. Though God is sovereign and all powerful, Scripture clearly tells us that He limited Himself, concerning the affairs of the earth, to working through human beings." Dutch Sheets
We have trouble, I think, seeing God as one who limits himself. We see God as one who does what he pleases, when he pleases, how he pleases. But then, we have trouble reconciling that with the chaos we see in the world around us. If he does what he pleases, when he pleases, how he pleases, then, all the chaos that we see must be 'what' he pleases. But this can't be true, can it?
To think that he could do something about it, but chooses not to, makes us wonder about the truth of his 'good and perfect and pleasing will.' This chaos does not appear to be any of the three; good, perfect, or pleasing. We have been taught not to question God about this. But, secretly, in places we don’t talk about, we’ve been angry with him. We have been taught that our judgement about 'good and evil' is faulty (my mental jury is still out on this point...) How do we reconcile this? We have chosen to believe that God does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, He is sovereign, therefore, if we follow this through, the chaos must be what he wants. We have chosen to believe that what he wants is 'good' (however foreign that concept is to our sense of right and wrong), so we have no choice, if we add these two thoughts together, but to declare the chaos good. (the other choice of course, is to stick our heads in the sand…to refuse to think, refuse to question, and just be led along the garden path…)
But, WHATIF.... we have a God who, though he is sovereign, limits himself? To what does he limit himself? To the will of man! (Not that the man necessarily chooses/wills the chaos, but that he insists on living independant of God, refuses to surrender to him, refuses to 'listen to instruction', which, as a result, leads to chaos) The thought of this is overwhelming! But I cannot doubt the truth of it. It changes everything!!! It reconciles everything...doesn't it?? Yes?? No??? Don't answer too quickly... It's a big question.
Or, maybe it's not a big question...
Maybe you've never had trouble reconciling a 'good, sovereign' God with the chaos you see around you. Maybe you've never been asked to believe that: this not-good, not-pleasing, not-perfect thing that is happening is the 'path he has chosen for me to walk.' Maybe you've never been asked to believe that: if God doesn't heal you of a disease the first (or the 21st) time you ask, the disease must be his will. He is sovereign after all... if he wanted to heal you he would. The fact that he hasn’t healed me proves that he doesn’t want to, that it is not his will to do so. I've heard these words. These, too: "if it's not his will to heal me, then I will simply learn to live with this... I can do that! It's no big deal... who am I to question God?? He does what he wants!"
I have been asked to believe that sometimes,... most times, actually... sickness and disease is (or at the very least, could be) God's will. The plans he has for me, to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me hope and a future, actually look like the plans to give me cancer, chronic pain, bankruptcy, a lifeless marriage, and children who despair of life. (Not that I have any of these things... they are just examples of things I've heard...not wanting to start any rumors!) I've been asked to accept these things as from the hand of God. The reason it doesn't fit with my view of 'good, perfect, & pleasing' is because my judgement is faulty. I have been asked (by way of this type of reasoning) to believe that: what I perceive to be bad is, in fact, good, because God is good, and God is all.
I'm not buying it.
{I know it seems like I've shifted gears... like I've switched from one subject to another but I’m not sure I have. I get confused. I know what I’m thinking, but not sure how to write it out. }
First reason I’m not buying it: if this type of reasoning is correct… what then would be the point of praying? If God does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, then what’s the point? How could my feeble utterance make any difference at all? Second reason: if this type of reasoning is correct, it completely negates the work of the devil, whom we have been told has plots and schemes to steal, kill, and destroy, and prowls around like a hungry lion. Why would we need to be on guard against the devil if he could do nothing at all to us, or, on the reverse, we could do nothing to resist him? If everything that happened was God’s will, his good and perfect and pleasing will, then who is this devil, this father of lies, this wolf in sheep’s clothing? Is he a tool of God? Is he, too, in the final analysis, good? And, …what about SIN? Does my own sin, or the sin of others, have any negative consequence? Or is my sin, too, part of God’s plan? His good and perfect will? We need to be careful how we think about these things!
But IF… God is a God who, though he IS sovereign, limits himself…., IF he is a God who ‘does nothing on earth, save in answer to prayer’, then the need for prayer is enormous! IF he has chosen, concerning the affairs of the earth, to limit himself to working through human beings’, then the need for me to offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, is enormous! Then, and only then, will we be able to test and approve what is the will of God, his good and pleasing and perfect will, and, on the reverse… what is NOT his will. I DO believe that there is such a thing as, NOT HIS WILL! I currently DO NOT believe that the chaos is His will. I DO NOT believe that the turmoil in my friend’s marriage, the loneliness, the despair, is the cross she has to bear. I DO NOT believe that sickness, disease, and pain is God’s PLAN for us.
We, as the body of Christ, have been commissioned to ‘heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and preach the good news to the poor." WHATIF…. we actually did?
posted by toomanywhatifs at
11:15 PM
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