IT DOES HAVE TO MAKE SENSE!
Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Isa. 28:28, N.I.V.
"Just do it!" Tired of explaining everything to her 5-year-old, Mother had finally resorted to simply commanding. "But it doesn't make sense!" lamented the young lad. "I don't care! Just do it!" answered his mother with a great deal of exasperation. "It doesn't have to make sense!"
Ten year later it was Mother, referring to her son's wasted condition from drug use, who lamented, "But son, it just doesn't make sense!" Turning to go out the door, he paused only long enough to mumble, "It doesn't have to make sense!"
Sometimes God asks things of people that seem to make no sense. Some people reason that since God is an authority figure it doesn't have to make sense. However, if you believe this, you have some exciting things to learn about Him! God's actions are full of integrity, and they make the very best sense! The times we have difficulty finding meaning in our circumstances may be when our ability to analyze and appreciate the larger picture--the reality that encompasses more than just our personal areas of concern.
Our text today reminds us to consider the larger picture. "Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it, his horses do not grind it. All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom" (Isa. 28:28, 29, N.I.V.). If we were to focus solely upon the grain with no thought of the sweet-smelling bread that would result, we might wonder at the whole process. Why crush wheat? In what manner should it be crushed? And, with no understood objective, timing becomes distorted: What is too long and what is long enough?
Our loving Father's wisdom is magnificent! We may trust that He is able to handle all the intricate details of "the larger picture" without diminishing a single individual or minimizing anyone's specific needs. We may know that His actions, or apparent lack of them, are precisely chosen and perfectly accurate in every circumstance. Whether He allows us to experience painful consequences or moves to alleviate our distress, we may know with perfect confidence that God has chosen the most sensible option.
Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Isa. 28:28, N.I.V.
"Just do it!" Tired of explaining everything to her 5-year-old, Mother had finally resorted to simply commanding. "But it doesn't make sense!" lamented the young lad. "I don't care! Just do it!" answered his mother with a great deal of exasperation. "It doesn't have to make sense!"
Ten year later it was Mother, referring to her son's wasted condition from drug use, who lamented, "But son, it just doesn't make sense!" Turning to go out the door, he paused only long enough to mumble, "It doesn't have to make sense!"
Sometimes God asks things of people that seem to make no sense. Some people reason that since God is an authority figure it doesn't have to make sense. However, if you believe this, you have some exciting things to learn about Him! God's actions are full of integrity, and they make the very best sense! The times we have difficulty finding meaning in our circumstances may be when our ability to analyze and appreciate the larger picture--the reality that encompasses more than just our personal areas of concern.
Our text today reminds us to consider the larger picture. "Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it, his horses do not grind it. All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom" (Isa. 28:28, 29, N.I.V.). If we were to focus solely upon the grain with no thought of the sweet-smelling bread that would result, we might wonder at the whole process. Why crush wheat? In what manner should it be crushed? And, with no understood objective, timing becomes distorted: What is too long and what is long enough?
Our loving Father's wisdom is magnificent! We may trust that He is able to handle all the intricate details of "the larger picture" without diminishing a single individual or minimizing anyone's specific needs. We may know that His actions, or apparent lack of them, are precisely chosen and perfectly accurate in every circumstance. Whether He allows us to experience painful consequences or moves to alleviate our distress, we may know with perfect confidence that God has chosen the most sensible option.
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