“God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection” (II Samuel 22:30, NLT).
“God’s way is perfect.” When Moses passed the mantle of leadership to Joshua, he sang a hymn of praise before all the people. In it, he said of the Lord, “He is the Rock; His deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Undoubtedly, David knew this song of Moses and drew on it as he celebrated the Lord’s goodness.
God’s ways truly are “perfect.” He never has nor never will say, “Oops.” He makes no mistakes. Even when we can’t understand the way He’s working and even when we can’t see Him working at all, He is at work. And as Romans 8:28 tells us, we can rest assured that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (NLT).
Romans 8:28 has to be one of the most misunderstood and misused in the Bible. How can good come from a horrible illness? A tragic death? A heart-wrenching divorce?
But look at this passage in the light of what David and Moses said about God’s ways and deeds being perfect. God is not the author of evil. He despises evil. However, from the moment He created human beings, He gave them a choice: choose Me or choose Satan. Ain’t no third choice, folks – it’s either God’s way or the devil’s.
Given the freedom to choose, mankind chose evil and, in doing so, unleashed the curses that accompanied that wrong choice. Sin corrupted God’s perfect world. See, neither sin nor the results of sin are anything new – Satan isn’t capable of creating anything. What sin does and what Satan delights in is perverting for evil what God created for good.
But here’s the deal: in spite of the corrupted world we live in, God’s ultimate plan will prevail and that plan is totally and positively “for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will spend eternity with Him in a place of absolute perfection.
A lot of folks say they “love God,” but a lot of those folks are as lost as the proverbial duck in the desert. The proof is in the living, y’all. True children of God understand and live “according to His purpose for them.” Not their own personal agendas.
You can give your kids and grandkids all the worldly love and worldly stuff you can drum up, but unless you give them Jesus, you’ve given them nothing of eternal value. And that’s the only thing that’s going to count when your time or your loved one’s time on this ol’ earth comes to a close.
"God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.” David could make this statement with absolute confidence because he fully trusted in the goodness and power of God.
Do you believe all God’s promises are true? Do you trust Him as your Shield and Defender?
Copyright © 2013
Judy Woodward Bates
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