Monday, September 14,
2026
REST IN HIS PURPOSES!
Job 23:10
10 But he knoweth
the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Jeremy Taylor, 1613 – 1667, was an English
Bishop and devotional writer. He wrote: “Nothing is intolerable that is
necessary. Now God has bound thy trouble upon thee, with a design to try thee,
and with
purposes to reward and crown thee. These cords thou canst not
break; and therefore, lie thou down gently, and suffer the hand of God to do
what He pleases.”
Why would God cast aside your experience to allow you to
languish in what seems to be a dead-end pattern of unproductive life? We might
ask Elijah how he felt camping out on the banks of the brook Cherith waiting
for the ravens to air drop his next meal. Elijah was precisely where God wanted
him to be and was doing exactly what God told him to do. (See First Kings
17:3-6)
We might also ask Paul what it felt like to retreat from
church planting to join himself with a fellow tent maker. While he was involved
in the construction and sale of portable buildings, was he still an apostle?
Yes, he was! He learned valuable insight from Aquila and Priscilla (see Acts
18:1-4).
Most preachers, especially at their first call, sparkle
with ambition. To do something is their great desire. They long to stand
before the great cathedrals and address large crowds but as often as not they
kneel by the water’s edge and engage in conversation with ones like Lydia,
the seller of purple, as she washes her fabric (see Acts 16:12-15). Why would
God disallow such an honorable ambition? Paul explains it himself in the
following verses.
Could Paul have suspected his global and
timeless impact while sitting in the dungeon with quill in hand? Could he know
that he was writing most of the Holy Scripture when he penned his letters to
the churches? Could he even imagine that he was writing a minister’s manual
when he wrote twice to Timothy and again to Titus? I think his wildest
ambitions might have fallen far short of God’s purposes.
When God seems to mismanage our life and we sit
frustrated in the dust of despair we can only rely upon the truth that He does
all things well.
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your
care upon him; for he careth for you.
Dear Lord, I will
lie me down gently and allow you to do what you please because I believe your
purposes are best. AMEN
