The Mighty Hand of God

 There are a few rare days when we find a glimpse of God’s raw character, His fearsome majesty, His rule in every detail, His mighty hand and out stretched arm as our forefathers in the faith referred. At those moments we know we have seen not only the arm of God but something more.

 Yesterday was a difficult day. Everything went bad on top of everything going bad. It was out of my hands. People are cruel. Not always surely. Yet yesterday seemed like a cruel day as every moment unfolded. It was a rare conglomeration of ugly and strange that teetered me away from my normal. My normal, mind you, is not the same as God’s normal. That seems worrisome at first thought. How then can I trust in a God whose normal behavior can leave me so confounded?  It was not comfortable.

 I was reading this morning how the Bible often describes God’s freeing work as being performed by His mighty hand and His out stretched arm. He freed Israel from Pharaoh with a mighty hand and He conquered Canaan with a mighty hand and an out stretched arm. He unyieldingly accomplishes His full purpose. Meanwhile, we, we get nothing done outside His mighty hand, mighty will, or mighty, mighty….anything I suppose. It may be that when we feel most mystified by God’s management of things that we are being drawn into His inner circle not pushed away. Perhaps it is the terrible things, events cruel, seemingly fateful losses that force us to stare with unshielded eyes at the majesty of His doing. Our discomforts and our agonies press us to worship this God who is loving yet fearsome. We do not control Him. He is not manipulated. He is concerned for His own glory.  

 All things work together for good for those who love God and are the called according to His purpose. I remembered this today. God manages events according to His eternal will and He works all things for the good of the redeemed. These are not juxtaposed they are parallel. The course of life can be confounding. But I still believe that the mighty hand and the out stretched arm of God are stretched out for me not against. We say that we want to know God. If that is true we ought to be prepared to know a God of mysteries, of heaven and hell, fire and sword, sickness unto death and eternal life. In all these things we are conquerors.

 For Christian Culture,

 Don Schanzenbach   3-15-11