Till We Are Home

Think back on your life…what moments do you wish you could change? Or, how about decisions you made? Or even ways you acted? Look at your life today, do you often wonder what would life look like if only…? Let me let you in on a little secret…

Your life was never not going to be this way. 

The witness of Scripture speaks loudly that God ordains the events of our life from His throne. He rules and reigns as He pleases, working with His creation according to His sovereign will. In the past, I mentioned two passages in the Bible, Isa 46:8-10 and Mt 10:29-31, that speak to the Lord’s providence. But, let’s consider another passage from Ephesians chapter 1 where Paul says, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,” (Eph 1:11). 

Listen again to that last part, “who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” God works all things according to the counsel of His will. Take a pause and drink that statement in…God works in all the events (and more) of your life, ordaining each bit as His perfect and sovereign will decrees. 

This, in no way, removes human responsibility from the equation – look at verse 7 that says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” We would not need to be forgiven our trespasses if God’s providence negated our responsibility for there is a working relationship between the two. 

But, for those of us who look at some of the more tragic experiences in our life and wonder if I could have done something differently, would that mean a different outcome? Or, if I had just said this one thing or if I had been there, this would not have happened. Maybe even some of us wonder about time travel, as silly as it sounds to think of such sci-fi things…

Let me say it again, it was never not going to be this way.

God works all things according to the counsel of His will. All things. By His all-wise, sovereign, and good will. 

Could I have saved my little girl? Though I wish so very much to travel back in time and change circumstances…though I so wish that me as her daddy could have stopped all the bad things…the answer is no. For it was never not going to be this way. 

That does not lead me down fatalistic roads. That does not mean I do not learn from the events of my life. But one thing it does mean is that I serve a God who is great and glorious and so beyond my way of thinking (Isa 55:8-9) that my best response is to trust – I ‘must trust’ in His goodness and love to care for me and everyone around me according to the best way life’s events are ordered in accordance to His good will. 

To my fellow sufferers who weep and mourn and wonder if life could have been any different – trust in the God who ordains your days and your life to be just the way it is. It was never not going to be this way. We ‘must trust’ our great God not only when life’s days are easier, but also in the valleys that seem deep and dark…

Till we are home…