Our Teacher and Leader
If we had asked God for the perfect week for us last week, how would it have been different than it was? One of the most natural things that we do is plan out our lives in general or in detail, depending on our personalities, and then expect that we will be able to accomplish at least a decent part of the plan. But in the classroom of life we are the students, not the teacher. God has nothing to learn from us, but He longs deeply to teach us much for our own good. He is the one who has given us life and He is the one who has planned out our lives, so only He is the one who knows what is best for us at any given time. “The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow.(Isaiah 48:17) We are tempted to give up when we expect God to adjust to our plans rather than looking to Him for His plan and accept His carefully and lovingly prepared lessons designed to help us grow into more sharply focused images of Himself. The problem we face with this test is that our enemy does his best to offer us other ways of dealing with life, his way. When we fail to ask the Lord what we should do and then act in our own faith we face two serious outcomes. The Lord tells us, Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves.(v.18) The second disaster is that if we won’t obey Him, then we have to trust lies instead. We easily forget that in the world around us the lie is king.
Weekly our media puts on exhibits of another organization, person or movement that has built a reputation on well-developed lies, that have been exposed. Sports judges lie, industry leaders lie, politicians lie and Christian leaders lie as well. We are so used to the lie being a part of our normal communication that we are confused when we are faced with someone who will not lie. Our Enemy has taught us well. Only fools believe everything they are told. But we who have an eternal relationship with the God of the Bible are dealing with someone who has never lied in the past and never will in the future. The God of the Bible always tells the truth. He has filled His Love Letter to us with promises made to His beloved children that He will never break. So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.(Heb.6:18) These promises are waiting to be discovered and waiting for us to act on them. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence. (v.18) The lies around us pressure us to give up and live within the crooked guidelines of the world system. Our heavenly Father, on the other hand, tells us to hang on to Him, trust His truth and never give up. This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.(v.19) Dear Lord. please help us to remember who You are and who we are as we face the challenges that you have planned for us.
Isaiah 48:17 “The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow. 18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves.
