My God Knelt and Answered Me
"I said "God I do not understand this world"
Everything is dying and broken
Why do I see nothing but suffering
God I'm asking could this be your plan?
Sin has taken hold of this whole land
Will You not say anything else to me?"
These are lyrics from a song that I could have written. I can’t remember how I found this song. It was probably part of a Spotify playlist that came up on my feed. Regardless, it was from the Lord to me.
Is it just me, or is the world speeding down an oil-covered slipping slide into chaos and darkness? I’m currently reading Jeremiah’s prophecies as part of the yearly chronological Bible reading plan. It’s like reading the daily news (which I actually try to avoid). I will not waste my time, or space on my blog to recount the evil victories that we are seeing here in our own country and around the world. Instead, I’d rather talk about what Jesus is doing.
The news worth repeating is that thousands of people are coming to Christ all over the world, including Muslims in Iran, and communists in China. I’ve watched men and women talking about giving their lives to Jesus after he visited them in their dreams. The fields are ripe. The light is getting brighter while the dark gets darker.
Where is God in all of this?
I recently read an article written by John Piper that discusses what I believe — that everything happens according to God’s plan. Here are some key takeaways I gleaned from the article:
“God is sovereign. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). That’s sovereignty. But the word sovereignty does not carry in itself any idea of design or purpose, just power and authority. “Providence” implies purposefulness.
As in: God saw to it that there would be a ram in the thicket to take Isaac’s place. He saw to it that Joseph would be sold into slavery. He saw to it that his Son would be killed. This way of talking implies purposefulness. He doesn’t act only in sovereign power. He acts according to plan, to wisdom — he acts in purposeful sovereignty. That is what I mean by “providence.” God sees to everything purposefully.“
The Bible makes it clear that God has a plan and it will be accomplished. This is true for world events and it is true for my life. This is a salve that helps heal my raw emotional memories of past personal failures and trials. The most intensely painful memory for me is the day our grandson Colton was stillborn. I have endured other painful trials, but this was was so unexpected and so sharp, and it hurt my daughter and her husband. If you are a parent you can relate to this. But I know that God had a purpose for this and I find relief in this.
So now what?
I started this post with lyrics from a song called “Where Were You” by Ghost Ship. The rest of the lyrics, shown below, is what the Lord encouraged me with, and I cling to this reminder. If you have read the book of Job, it will be familiar. The song ends with “I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, although I had no right to ask, my God knelt and answered me.”
God knelt and answered me and I am humbled by his love and his reminder…
He said "where were you the day that I measured"
Sunk the banks and stretched the line over
All the earth and carved out its corner stone?
Where were you the day that I spoke and
Told the sun to split the night open
Calmed the morning dawn with its light to show
Who shut in the ocean with stone doors
Marked the reach of tides on those new shores
Hung the day the waves rose and first broke forth
Have you seen the springs of that great sea
Walked the caverns carved in the black deep
Through the gates of darkness there on its floor
Have you seen the armory I hold
Snow and hail are stacked up in silos
For the times of trouble and war and strife
Can you raise your voice to the storm cloud
Would the thunder answer and ring out
Does the lightning ask you where it should strike
Who has cleft the channels for torrents
Rain to sprout the desert with forest
In the wilderness that my hand has built
Can you hunt the prey for your lions
Can you use the chords of Orion
Is this whole world bending beneath your will?
I spoke of things I did not understand
Things too wonderful for me
Although I had no right to ask
My God knelt and answered me
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