Isaiah 55:6-9 (NIV)
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign that will endure forever.”
In the chaos of the world we live in, it is difficult for me to trust God’s sovereignty. Global and local news breaks my heart. How could God let these devastating things happen? It’s even more confusing to me when He answers my little prayers for personal needs, so unimportant compared to what I read in the news. Why is He so good to me sometimes when A) I don’t deserve it, and B) the world seems to be falling apart?
I don’t know. I know what I’ve been taught: that the world is broken because of sin. God gives us free will instead of making us all robots (and we’re human and make mistakes), so bad things happen ranging from malicious actions to lazy neglect and even miscommunication with good intentions. I’ve experienced or been guilty of many of them. But He has mercy on us, thanks to His love and the sacrifice of His Son. Why did He do that? It makes me think of an old praise chorus that I learned in my youth:
Oh, the wonder of it all
That Love should die for me
Oh, the wonder of it all
That He gave His life for me
Into the darkness precious life has come
Into a broken and weary world
God gave His only Son
Oh, the wonder of it all
Amazing love
(repeat a few times)
To me, this Good News is a mystery. I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand how or why He loves us so much to sacrifice this way, or why He lets events in the world unfold the way they do. His thoughts and ways are beyond me. But I’m grateful for that because of what it means for us when we turn to Him. He gives us hope and a future, pictured poetically in the Isaiah passage with joyful mountains and junipers in place of thorn bushes.
My job is not to understand the whole mystery of God. It is to seek Him and call on Him, turn away from my unrighteous thoughts and toward Him. And to thank Him when He does answer my little prayers, because they are signs to me to help me trust Him. Best of all, they help me know His amazing love.
About the Author
Jessie is a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a blog about travel and the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her sweet husband, Chris, their 5 funny kids, and 1 fluffy cat in Springfield. She loves hiking and other outdoor and indoor adventures with her family.