Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
We must be careful not to place or own ideas and programs on the lips of the LORD, assuming he agrees with them. Our plans usually involve ending the challenges and external threats as quickly as we can and then getting on with our self-interested, unencumbered lives.
Hear this, Hananiah!
The LORD has not sent you,
and you have raised false confidence in this people.
The storms we face are not unfortunate evils that slipped by when the LORD wasn't paying attention, to be ended now that we let him know about them.
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and set out. He did this with the full divine knowledge that it would be tossed by the waves, knowing that the wind would be against it. He did this make a point.
In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (see John 16:33).
The solution is not immediately to be found in a correction of the circumstances. It is first to be found in faith. We are called to believe that all things, even evil things, are made to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose (see Romans 8:28). Evil is permitted that a greater good may result. This greater good includes the transformation of our lives that occurs as we walk in faith. Only after the inner reality is healed can the circumstances follow. It is not that the circumstances are not important, just that they must take second place to the healing of our souls that occurs when they are established in a right relationship with God, living from a mindset of trust. New life blossoms within and only after spills over into the world. If we understand this rationale, we can avoid doubting divine providence. We can be courageous like Peter.
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
And then, once our challenged faith has responded and grown, the circumstances themselves can be restored.
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”
No comments:
Post a Comment