Author: Paul Nordman

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The Wise Plans of a Good God

Our executives gathered for a two-day offsite strategy and teambuilding session. This one included yet another personality evaluation for all, showing among other characteristics our comfort level with “control.” Regarding influencing others and taking control of a situation, the exercise showed me to be pretty comfortable—on the high side of average. As for my contentment with others taking charge and influencing my direction, however, let’s just say I had a strong preference not to be controlled.

For most, the Christian walk is a continual process of relinquishing control, not only over our own plans, but over God’s plans, too. We can be impatient with God’s pace of revelation (“Please, I need to know right now!”) and we can be anxious about what He has in mind for us (“What if He wants to send me as a missionary?”). And in case He hadn’t thought of it, we even go so far as to suggest how God might go about accomplishing our requests. (“Was that thunder, or a celestial chuckle?”)

God has plans for His people, each of us and all of us. Paul assures us, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”1 His are “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”2 Yet in unsearchable wisdom—and often to our frustration—God keeps His plans a mystery, unknowable to us until He reveals each in His time and in His way. But while we may not always know God’s plans, we do always know His self-proclaimed character— “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”3 This is who God is.

So comforted in God’s character that we do know, we can be contented with His plans we do not know. If He is by nature good, faithful, loving, and compassionate, certainly His plans for us will reflect the same. We can rest assured, as David did, “You are good and You do good,”4 and “Your faithfulness endures to all generations.”5 We can confidently worship with Jeremiah, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”6 We can trust the wise plans of our good God and relinquish control today. What a relief.

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.7 Amen.

1 Romans 8:28
2 Jeremiah 29:11
3 Exodus 34:6-7 NIV
4 Psalm 119:68 NASB [emphasis added]
5 Psalm 119:90
6 Lamentations 3:22-23
7 Isaiah 25:1 NIV

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The Nature of Him Who Calls Us To Pray

One of the men in our Bible study posited this for us to ponder: “When my dad says, ‘Don’t run out into the street,’ do I obey because I fear my dad’s anger and wrath, or because I trust his wisdom and care?” What an effective diagnostic! (Or so it seemed to me). The question was analogous, of course, ultimately focused not on our relationship with our earthly father, but with our heavenly One. It occurred to me that our understanding of who God is affects the spirit in how we approach Him. Then let’s look at the nature of “our Father who art in heaven,” the character of Him who calls us to pray.

God loves His people, and of His own desire He draws us close to Himself. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”1.

God listens to us with intentionality. Marvels David, “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.”2

God’s desires for us far exceed our own imagination and petitions. He is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”3

God sometimes says, “no” to our prayers, this for our own good and for His higher purposes. Paul testifies: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about [my affliction], that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”4

God may take time to answer us, so that we grow stronger in our faith, itself “more precious than gold”5. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith . . .  And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”6

God is faithful to answer us in His wisdom and in His time. “But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.”7

Loving, caring, lavish, protective, wise, and faithful—this is the nature of our heavenly Father toward us who are His children “through faith in Christ Jesus.”8 God delights in us and eagerly invites us into conversation with Him. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace . . .”9

Father, forgive us for doubting Your character. Grace us to know You as you really are and, in this confidence, to draw near to Your throne of great grace. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Jeremiah 31:3
2 Psalm 116:1-2 NIV
3 Ephesians 3:20
4 2 Corinthians 12:8-9
5 1 Peter 1:7
6 1 Peter 5:8-10
7 Psalm 69:13
8 Galatians 3:26
9 Hebrews 4:16

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Wait for It

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” —Habakkuk 2:3

Sober now for over 30 years, my friend remains fully engaged in “the program,” gaining daily strength against addictions while coming alongside others battling their own. From time to time, they share among themselves this helpful adage, a perspective that lifts one’s gaze beyond the crisis of the moment and to the victory that awaits those who persevere: “Don’t give up five seconds before the miracle.”

As we mature in Christ, our faith— “the certainty of things hoped for”1— deepens, strengthens, and grows. The more we recognize God’s work in and around us, the more we trust He hears our prayers and answers them. What leaves us unsettled, however, is the matter of when. It is one thing to trust in God’s goodness and power; it is quite another to rest in His timing. As a friend recently observed, “We can be impatient with God’s patience.” So true. When facing the vast Philistine army, for instance, King Saul took it upon himself to offer the sacrifice that Samuel—a seeming no-show at the time— was to offer upon arrival. “As soon as [Saul] had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came.”2 Said Samuel to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God . . . Now your kingdom shall not continue.”3 The king had given up moments before the miracle, and with tragic results.

God’s plans and promises have a time element to them, and they will be fulfilled soon enough. Saul’s successor David understood the pain of waiting— “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”4 Yet he trusted not only in God’s faithfulness to His promises, but also in the wisdom of His timetable. “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”5 This faith —faith that waits—does not give up before the miracle, rather it endures to see its manifestation and then rejoices in its timing. For God “acts for those who wait for him.”6

Have you ever seen God answer your prayer on schedule different than you expected? Do you now see wisdom in His timeline? Then what is it today that you might submit both to God’s power and to His timing?

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.7 Lift my gaze to the victory that lies beyond any crisis I may face today. In Christ I pray. Amen.

1 Hebrews 11:1 NASB
2 1 Samuel 13:10
3 1 Samuel 13:13-14
4 Psalm 13:1
5 Psalm 130:5 NIV
6 Isaiah 64:4
7 Psalm 5:3 NIV