Safe in the Father’s hands ∙
Humans plan their course in their hearts, but the Lord establishes their steps. – Proverbs 16:9
2 Kings 8:1-6
1 Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “Take your family and move to some other place, for the LORD has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years.”
2 So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and settled in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
3 After the famine ended, she returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land.
4 As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had just said, “Tell me some stories about the great things Elisha has done.”
5 And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king about her house and land. “Look, my lord the king!” Gehazi exclaimed. “Here is the woman now, and this is her son – the very one Elisha brought back to life!”
6 “Is this true?” the king asked her. And she told him the story. So he directed one of his officials to see that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence.
After three days of relentless rain, the ground was thoroughly soaked, a common occurrence in Chris’s area that barely registered on his radar. With the weather clearing up to a sunny morning, Chris was going about his usual routine, gearing up for work. He was ready to head out after tending to his morning necessities and enjoying breakfast. Chris pulled the car out of the garage and realized he had left his cell phone on the kitchen table. Leaving the car idling, he stepped back inside to retrieve it. In that brief moment, a startling crack and a massive thud echoed; a large tree had toppled over, crushing his running car beneath. Had Chris not returned for his phone, he would’ve been flattened inside the now squashed car.
Could this have been a divine intervention, sparing Chris’s life? Was this delay orchestrated for a reason? The answer is a resounding yes. There are no coincidences in the kingdom of God; nothing happens by chance. The Father still had plans for Chris on Earth, but His dream and purpose for Chris had not been fulfilled. Throughout history, there are numerous accounts of such divine interventions in the time-space continuum to accomplish His greater purpose.
It’s important to distinguish between being providentially hindered by the Father and procrastination. Procrastination stems from delaying, postponing, or putting off something. It is often self-defeating, leading to self-sabotage and adverse outcomes. Unlike divine delays, which serve a higher purpose, procrastination usually brings about more harm than good, with any immediate gains overshadowed by long-term repercussions.
Every moment is in the Father’s hands in the grand tapestry of time. He has the authority to influence, shape, and control history and turn it as He wishes. “Life is never an unbroken string of joyful blessings and extraordinary miracles. We live on a fallen planet where bad things happen. Yet God calls us to trust Him with the end of the story as well as its beginning” (Stanley).
REFLECT & PRAY
Our lives are better off in the Father’s hands than in our own. We can trust the Father as the superintendent of all of the moments of our lives.
Father thank You. Help me to be Your faithful servant and trust You for all the seasons of my life.
INSIGHT
The Father is always at work. He has actively intervened in human affairs throughout history to accomplish His purposes. In fact, He is orchestrating history. The Father invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
The Father is the sovereign ruler of the universe. He does not ask us to dream our dreams for Him. He does not invite us to set magnificent goals and then pray that He will help us achieve them.
When He approaches us, He already has His own agenda. He desires to get us from where we are to where He is working. He leads us from being self-centered to being God-centered. When the Father reveals to you where He is working, that becomes His invitation to join Him in His activity. When He reveals His work to you, that is the time to respond to Him (Blackaby).
This is precisely what happened to the woman whose son the Father had resurrected through the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37). After the resurrection, a famine occurred in the land, and she left the country. When the famine was over, she returned. She went to the king of Israel to beg him to get her land back.
The Father had been behind the scenes at work all the time, orchestrating these events. At the very moment, the king of Israel conversed with Elisha’s servant, Gehazi.
2 Kings 8:5 Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king about her house and land. “Look, my lord the king!” Gehazi exclaimed. “Here is the woman now, and this is her son – the Very one Elisha brought back to life!”
This little cameo provides a glimpse behind the scenes of the Father working to accomplish His purpose. You can’t make this stuff up. Her request was granted.
As children of the King, we don’t know what He is up to or what the next episodes of our lives will bring. However, what we possess is immensely more valuable: a relationship with the King Himself, who has revealed His heart and loyal love towards us. Because of the Father’s gracious kindness and omnipotent power, He can transform any circumstance for the good of all children of the King.
What is the Father’s motivation? He delights in guiding the children of the King to the best possible outcome of their lives, showcasing His deep commitment to their well-being.
Psalms 37:23 The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Proverbs 16:9 In their hearts, people plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
As children of the King, we must take this by faith and trust in the Father and His good intentions for us. Our goal should be to follow His plan rather than make our own plans independently.
Proverbs 19:21 You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.
Proverbs 20:24 The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?
“The surprise comes in discovering that in the realm of planning daily activities, where humans believe they are in control, God’s will is most intimately at work. God works through the mental processes of human thought to bring about his desire.”
“Such an arena of God’s activity appears insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But if the search for wisdom is an activity of the mind, then it is in the mind of human beings that God is most directly active. Through human thought, which fears the LORD, the individual is brought into an encounter with the divine. Humans think God directs. Even when plans are meant to do harm, God uses them to bring about good (cf. Genesis 50:19-20)” (Bland).
Beneath the surface is a delicate equilibrium between divine intervention and human effort.
The LORD arranges the course of one’s life. Every action falls under the Lord’s watchful guidance and superintendence. “Though a person might map out their road meticulously, the execution of such plans hinges on their alignment with the Father’s plan and intentions. “It’s a misconception to believe in having absolute autonomy, to dictate outcomes in every scenario without bounds, aiming to actualize one’s desires . . .” (Waltke).
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© Dr. H 2024
Dr H Reflections 