When God Unfolds His Will in Pieces
Before the tabernacle was assembled upon the plains, Moses received a vision of it upon the mountain. Before he directed the first weaving, the first stitching, the first forging, he had been given a detailed image of the completed whole. God led him in a comprehensive walkthrough and delivered to him a thorough set of instructions.
It’s for this reason that there are chapters in the book of Exodus that run in parallel. In chapter 26 God provides instruction: “You shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.” Ten chapters later we read this description: ”All the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked.” Again, “You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.” And so, a short time later, “he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole.”
Thus it went from the tabernacle to the altar to the table to the lampstand to the Ark of the Covenant. Moses had received clear and exhaustive instructions from God and to be obedient he simply had to do exactly as he had been directed. God’s will was clear and it fell to Moses to execute it.
We may wish that God provided this kind of direction today. Especially when we come to life’s trials and difficulties, its questions and uncertainties, we may wish that God would describe what it means to be obedient from start to finish, from beginning to end. We may wish that he would give us a vision of the whole before we set out and that he would give us a thorough set of directions before we take the first step. We learn quickly, though, that this is not God’s way.
It’s not that God has no plan for our lives or that he is making things up as he goes. It’s not that he is adeptly responding to circumstances and directing first this way and then that. It’s not that he neglected to create a clear blueprint in his mind or that he lacks the power to execute it all in its minutest details. No, the truth is that God has every bit as much of a design for our lives as he did for his tabernacle. Our days are as clearly and precisely laid out in his mind as was his place of worship. If it was important to God to tell exactly how many rings must fasten each curtain, then certainly no detail of our lives is too small, no moment too trivial, no decision too insignificant to be meaningless or to fall outside of his plan.
But when it comes to our lives, God chooses to unfold his will in bits, in steps, in phases. He chooses to unfold his will in real-time and not in advance. He chooses to unfold his will in such a way that we need to exercise faith—faith that all we experience is within his providence, faith that the way will become clear as we go, and faith that when we look back upon it all, we will praise him for his wisdom. We proceed through life with a page of directions that includes just the next step or two, not with a booklet of instructions that displays the completed whole.
But even with this being the case, we lack nothing that is necessary to live faithfully and well. Where God gave Moses a blueprint, he gives us many promises. Where God gave Moses a detailed plan, he gives us many sweet assurances. Perhaps the best of them is this: “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” As we live with him and for him, he keeps back nothing we need to live in the way that pleases and honors him. And if God keeps back from us no good thing, then it must be equally true that he dispenses to us no ultimately bad thing. His providence does not fall into the two categories of good and bad, but just the one category of good. Everything is ultimately good because everything proceeds from his wisdom and falls within his plan.
Thus, whether our path leads through green pastures or dark valleys, we can be certain that God is withholding no good thing. Whether our path leads through depths of pain or heights or joy, we can have confidence that God is dispensing no evil thing. Whether our path leads in just one direction or forks into many possibilities, we can be sure that the God who told exactly how many rings must fasten each curtain is the very same God who will dispense the wisdom we need to discern whether it’s best to stay or return, to accept or decline, to press on or turn back. No matter where God leads, we can have the highest assurance that through it all he is making us more like Christ and bringing glory to his name. For the Lord is our sun and shield and he bestows to his beloved nothing but favor and honor.
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A La Carte (December 1)
The beginning of a new month is a good time to pause and remember this: That right now, at the very moment, the Lord is reigning from his throne.
I continue to update Kindle deals on a near-daily basis. If you check in just once per day, it’s usually best to do so around 7 AM EST since that is around when I finalize the list for the day. Amazon often puts books on sale for just 24 hours, so you’ll want to keep close tabs.
(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for November 2023)Samuel James: “This week Kevin DeYoung published a fine essay which engages generously but critically with Doug Wilson and his particular brand of provocative Reformed theology. I commend the entire piece to you, not just because it is well-written and convincing, but because one of the most important things evangelicals need to remember right now is that many of the either/or dilemmas that are typical of culture war are illusory.”
This article helpfully pushes counselors (and, by extension, any Christian engaged in counseling another person) to listen to the heart behind bad theology before immediately correcting it.
How could a good God allow evil? Is the Bible homophobic? Is Christ really the only way? Whether you’re new to the faith or have been raised in Christianity your whole life, these questions have most likely crossed your mind, perhaps even creating serious doubts for yourself or someone you know. If you want to deepen your own faith or help those who are struggling, we invite you to join us for our weekend seminar, “Christianity vs. Everybody,” hosted by DBTS. (Sponsored Link)
“Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim and now a former atheist, recently declared that she has converted to Christianity. This is a cause for great rejoicing. It is also a fascinating sign of the times.” Carl Trueman celebrates her salvation and looks at its significance.
Trevin Wax wants us to consider that “we can pray not only for those alive today but for those who will run the race in the decades and centuries after us. We pray for those yet unborn to one day be born again. O Lord, save our children and our children’s children!”
This is a strong answer to common questions like, “How much can people sin and still consider themselves a Christian? Is it possible to sin so much that we sin ourselves out of our salvation?”
Mark Dever has a call to the best kind of catholicity. “How catholic are we in our work as pastors? Do you actively work to partner with other local churches to fulfill the Great Commission? Or do you act as if your church can take the gospel to the ends of the earth all by yourselves?”
We begin our service distracted, narrow our focus to Jesus Christ, then broaden our gaze to living in this world for God’s glory. We do it again the next week, and again the week after that.
Endurance is not a magic spell that falls upon the Christian. Endurance comes from knowing what God’s word requires, knowing who we are according to God’s word, and knowing that God’s word lasts when all else falters and fails.
—Kevin DeYoung -
Joni’s Songs of Suffering
Few people have a sweeter and kinder spirit than Joni Eareckson Tada. Few people have suffered longer and more consistently than Joni Eareckson Tada. These two things—sweetness and suffering—do not necessarily go together, but by God’s grace they can and often do. They most certainly do in Joni’s life which is one of the reasons so many of us admire and honor her.
One of the keys to Joni’s suffering is singing. As she suffers the effects of her paralysis, as she endures chronic pain, as she persists through illness, she sings. And it’s out of her singing-through-suffering that she brings a new book titled Songs of Suffering. This book is a series of devotionals based upon 25 hymns that have proven especially precious to her.
“I have lived with quadriplegia for more than half a century,” she explains, “and have wrestled with chronic pain for much of that time. I struggle with breathing problems and am in an ongoing battle against cancer. All this makes for a perfect storm for discouragement.”Yet when my hip and back are frozen in pain, or it’s simply another weary day of plain paralysis, I strengthen myself with Jesus’s example in the upper room. My suffering Savior has taught me to always choose a song—a song that fortifies my faith against discouragement and breathes hope into my heart. And so I daily take up my cross to the tune of a hymn.
Yet not just any hymn will do. It must express truth. It must summon hope. It must point to Christ.
Thankfully the church is well served with such hymns. And thankfully we are capable of memorizing them so they are available at our beck and call in the very moment we need them. Hence Joni’s exhortation is not just to be vaguely familiar with these hymns, but to commit them to memory where they are never more than a breath away.
She divides the book into three sections: Songs of Comfort, Songs of Strength, and Songs of Hope. These categories are a bit imprecise, of course, and many of the hymns tick all three boxes. Yet this division helpfully explains which hymns may be best-suited to which purpose. Under each of the headings is a selection of songs, most of which will be familiar to most of her readers. Accompanying each hymn is a 2- or 3-page devotional along with the appropriate sheet music. It’s a simple format, but an effective one.
Several months ago Joni asked if I would write a brief endorsement for her book and I’ll close this review with that commendation: Where would we be without hymns? Where would we be without songs to express our sorest griefs and deepest sorrows? I hope you’ll allow Joni Eareckson Tada to introduce you to some of the best and most powerful of them all, to explain how they have been a blessing and comfort to her―and to encourage you to get to know them, to commit them to memory, and to sing them before the Lord, so they can be a blessing and comfort to you as well.Buy from Amazon
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ShareWord Global – A new name and mission for The Gideons in Canada
This week the blog is sponsored by ShareWord Global.
What do most people think of when they hear ‘The Gideons’?
If you were to ask around, the answer would likely have something to do with Bible distribution, with the most common forms being Bibles in hotel nightstands or in the hands of Grade 5 students. But the thing is, the Gideons have never just been about Bible distribution – in hotel nightstands, or otherwise.
If you trace back to the very beginnings of the ministry, you’ll find two traveling salesmen that met and found they shared a passion for the gospel. From that meeting, The Gideons were born as an evangelistic association of traveling salesmen. One method they employed in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ was the distribution of the Bible, but at its core, their intent was evangelistic.
In other words, the goal was to see souls saved.
Ten years ago, for both ideological and legal reasons, The Gideons International in Canada (“TGIC”) became an independent entity from The Gideons International. In so doing, new avenues of ministry opened all around the world. The kind of ‘this can’t be happening’ gospel opportunities that only God could have orchestrated. Until recently, that international outreach lived under the distinct brand name, ShareWord Global. But this past September, the organization adopted it to represent both the international and domestic ministry – unifying under one name and clarifying its ministry focus to mobilize Biblical evangelism.
No longer will we solely be the people who put Bibles in hotel nightstands, our renewed focus is to come alongside believers across the world, mobilizing our brothers and sisters to be faithful to Jesus’ call to “go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt 28:19).
And so, we go.
Not just sharing Bibles, but sharing the Word – partnering with the local church to invite people into a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ and leaving them with a copy of Scripture to help them on that journey.
Two of the places that God has called us to do that work are Nicaragua and Cuba. In Nicaragua, government officials requested that ShareWord Global connect with every school-aged child in the country, to share the gospel with them and leave them with a copy of Scripture. Similarly, in Cuba, we’ve been invited into the nation to mobilize the church and ensure a copy of Scripture is placed in every single home in the nation.
This is clearly a work that only God can do, and yet, He has chosen to use us, and we can’t do it alone.
The need is immense, the stakes are eternal, and we cannot do this work without you. Would you consider being part of the ongoing work?
Canada – https://sharewordglobal.com/ca/giveUS – https://sharewordglobal.com/us/
Together, we can tell the world.
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