7. POWERFUL, GOOD, AND WISE

Most of us have no trouble admitting that we often make unwise choices, say unwise things, and think unwise thoughts. One of the “go-to” passages of Scripture for believers who recognize their weakness in wisdom is James 1:5. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Why ask God for wisdom? James doesn’t go into a detailed explanation of that subject. The text implies that we ask God for wisdom because He’s the One who possesses it!

Wisdom is defined as: “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise, the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” If we are honest, we have to admit that, even if we don’t say so to anyone else, we often harbour reservations about God’s wisdom. This is especially true when an inexplicable tragedy occurs. We wonder whether He knows what He is doing. Or we wonder why it seems He is not doing anything! We may accept that God is in control of everything, but does He make wise choices as He exercises that control? This was part of Job’s issue with God. He was certain that Jehovah had made an unwise choice in inflicting so much grief on him. So we ask: Why should we trust God’s wisdom above our own?

Let’s explore that.

In Psalm 147:5, the psalmist writes: “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” He’s smart, and not just smart, but possesses an intelligence that is limitless. Experts say that human beings don’t use all the brain capacity they have. I suppose we could say, then, that we impose limits on ourselves. Even if we were to use all the brain power we possibly could, we still would not have an intelligence that is limitless. At some point, we will come to the end of the capacity we have—a capacity that is unique in all of us. If we go back to the Garden of Eden and the moment when Satan, in the guise of the serpent, presented himself to Eve, we discover again that the first couple did not resist temptation because they believed that if they did as Satan suggested, they could be as wise as God. They instinctively knew that God was smarter than they were. Rather than counting on God to give them wisdom as they needed it, they wanted to have all that He had. Satan tells them: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” What they got was not what they bargained for.

Unlimited intelligence and perfect knowledge mean that God doesn’t have to consult anyone, second-guess Himself, or have a five-year plan that He reviews at the end of the five years and then adjusts for the next five. His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are infinite. In theological terms, this is called OMNISCIENCE. Augustine writes in his Confessions, “You alone are the life which never dies and the wisdom that needs no light beside itself, but illumines all who need to be enlightened, the wisdom that governs the world, down to the leaves that flutter on the” trees.”^[i]

The wisdom of God, as expressed in His will for us, has a goal. John 15:8 describes this goal. Jesus, speaking to His disciples just before His death, tells them: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” The Lord has already told them that the process of bearing that fruit will not be easy, but His Father’s glory is the ultimate goal. He will do whatever is necessary to bring about that end.

God’s glory is so important that those who do not bring Him glory can only anticipate judgment for refusing to cooperate with Him in fulfilling His purposes. That choice reveals their foolishness. Romans 1:21-23 is an indictment of those who resisted that Divine will. Notice that this passage is directed not toward those who know nothing about God, but toward those who knew God and walked away. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” The rest of the passage so aptly describes our society today. The phrase often repeated in this passage is chilling, “Therefore God gave them over…”

Consider the following verses and comment on what you see in them that describes God’s ultimate goal for us.

Romans 11:36

1 Corinthians 10:31

Ephesians 1:12, 14

Revelation 4:11, 5:13, 15:4

Our finite minds don’t grasp all that is involved in this wonderful thing called “God’s glory” and the part we play in bringing glory to Him. We also struggle to make sense of how God’s glory and our good can emerge from tragedy. That is one reason we need to trust in God’s wisdom rather than our own. We simply do not, and cannot, grasp the enormity of His plans and purposes.

How do you respond to the idea that God’s glory and our good do not mean the absence of difficult circumstances?

We understand that we have an enemy who is more than happy to trip us up and rob us of the opportunity to experience all that God has for us. We know that he will do whatever he can to frustrate God’s work, which brings glory to Himself by fulfilling His mission of redemption in the world. Nothing delights him more than to do as he did to Eve: to create doubt in us about the goodness and wisdom of God.

Satan’s question to Eve was, “Did God really say…?” It was closely followed by the accusation that God was withholding a blessing from the first couple by denying them access to a particular tree. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Notice the following verse as well. The believers to whom Peter is writing are undergoing persecution for their faith. Did they doubt God’s wisdom in how He dealt with them? Did they listen to that voice questioning whether all that they were going through could possibly be glorifying to God or result in something good for them? Did they wonder if maybe they should walk away? Peter encourages them to “Resist him, standing firm in your faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

Luke 22:31, 32 are verses that often draw blank stares from those who hear them. Jesus is speaking to His disciples on the eve of His arrest and trial. He knows what Peter will do when confronted about his loyalties. The Lord knows that all His followers will be tempted to abandon Him. He also knows that none of what is about to happen to them is a random attack or outside His Father’s sovereign control. It is part of their growth curve.

Satan must ask God’s permission before carrying out any of his deadly and discouraging actions. This is not an easy idea to accept. However, the Scriptures are clear. What Luke records in these verses is not unique. What Jesus describes here echoes scenes in the first few chapters of the book of Job. Satan comes before God, having roamed the earth, looking for someone to trip up. God gives Satan the name and address of His servant Job and permission to test him. We cringe at the thought! But in Luke’s epistle, we find the same idea. Peter proclaims for all to hear that he will stand firm no matter what happens. He will not betray his Lord. But Jesus tells him, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Can you imagine the audience in heaven? Satan chortles. Perhaps he reminded God that he already has Judas in his pocket. What’s to say the other disciples won’t follow suit and betray their Master under the right conditions? God tells him to go ahead and try. These conversations remind us that Satan does not have God’s foreknowledge. He doesn’t know what the disciples, including Peter, will do when tempted. But the Lord knows. Jesus knows that Peter will have a momentary lapse—but He also knows, and will pray, that Peter will be restored and BE A GREATER INFLUENCE FOR GOOD AND FOR GOD THAN HE WAS BEFORE. If Satan had known that Peter and Job would turn out to be stronger believers as a result of his actions, he never would have bothered to tempt them.

As an illustration, here is a vignette from the Reformation period. Hugh Latimer was a Protestant cleric in England during the Reformation. During the reign of Edward VI, he advanced Protestantism and preached without fear to large crowds. But Edward’s reign and patronage did not last long. He was succeeded by Mary Tudor, or “Bloody Mary,” as she was named. Latimer was arrested and burned at the stake in 1555. His dying words were: “we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England as I trust shall never be put out.” Norman Grubb, in his biography of C. T. Studd, quotes C. T. as saying: “Hugh Latimer was an inextinguishable candle; the devil lit him, and ever since has been kicking himself for his folly.” If only Satan had known that Latimer would not deny his beliefs and that his death would contribute more to the advance of the Gospel than even his life did. If he had, he might have left him alone to die of old age!

Most of us have never considered the conversation that might be taking place in heaven about us. We may never understand. But can you think of an event in your life when you failed a divine test, were restored, and then discovered that even your failure and restoration brought a greater blessing?

Of course, Romans 8:28 and 29 are critical here: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”

We are promised that God uses everything for our good, even when we do not understand how difficult circumstances could possibly lead to that result. Believers are called to fulfill His purpose in their lives. We were made “…for him.” That purpose is to be like Jesus. It brings great glory to God when we reflect His Son before a lost world, particularly in how we live during difficult times. In His wisdom, He brings into our lives that which will fulfill His purpose in us and through us.

Hebrews 12:7-11 calls these challenges in life “disciplines,” and they are. “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?… Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Holiness is the result of being conformed to the image of Jesus. What a good God brings into our lives may not seem good to us, but He, in His divine wisdom, knows exactly what it will take to fulfill His divine design for us and bring us more and more into conformity with His Son—to make us holy.

God’s discipline is not punishment, though the two terms are often used interchangeably. The punishment we deserve has already been taken care of—God’s wrath fell on His own Son so that we would not have to suffer it. Isaiah 53:5 reminds us, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

It might take us a great deal of effort, and at times a great deal of trust, to say what the psalmist writes in Psalm 119:71. “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”

Job didn’t understand what his afflictions were about. He was certain that God had acted unwisely in bringing into his life all the pain and loss he was suffering. He wanted “his day in court” so he could explain the real situation to God. By the time we reach the end of the book of Job and have read through God’s response to Job’s demands, we hopefully come to the same conclusion that Job reached: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and” ashes.”^[ii]

Can you relate to Job’s words in any way?

We have no indication of the form, if any, in which God appeared to Job. We are simply told that God spoke to Job and presented him with these wonderful word pictures that described God’s sovereignty and His work to bring good to all His creation.

Why should this monologue of God’s be as convincing to us as it was to Job?

As far as we know, God never explained to Job what had happened in the heavenly encounter between Him and Satan. Satan is not mentioned again after Job 2. He disappears from the scene. We might ask why the conversation at the end of the book is not between God and Satan. Why does God not confront Satan and claim victory? But the story was never really about Satan in the first place. It was about God bringing Job along the path to a more mature and stronger faith. That is the point of everything that comes into our lives. Our story is not about Satan; it is about God at work to fulfill His divine purposes in and through us.

Take a look at these three psalms—Psalms 10, 22, and 74.

In Psalm 10, the “Why?” question is central. Why doesn’t God intervene in an evil world that rejects God and acts out its rebellion against Him? (“Why?” is an expression of pain and, in itself, is not bad. The issue for us is what we do with our questions. Do they move us toward God or away from Him?)

In Psalm 22, the plea is deeply personal. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The psalmist’s words are echoed as Jesus hangs on the cross. They are words we sometimes feel in life’s dark valleys.

Psalm 74 conveys the distress of a nation under God’s judgment.

Read through each psalm and determine: a. What request does the petitioner make? b. Which verses express the psalmist's confidence in a sovereign God?

Psalm 10

Psalm 22

Psalm 74

We know that Solomon, considered by many the wisest of men, had his issues. He was not wise in his political or personal alliances. Despite an abundance of human wisdom, he was not always able to see beyond what seemed expedient or necessary to meet his needs at the time. That’s a familiar pattern for us. We make choices in response to what we think we need. We wonder why God doesn’t recognize the significance of the needs we have identified. We often judge God by our own limited understanding, forgetting these important truths: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”^[iii]

The chapter assures us that although God thinks and acts on a much higher plane than we do, His intentions for us are only good and will not be thwarted.

Read Isaiah 55:10-13. What assurances does God give us in these verses?

Romans 11:33-34 is titled The Doxology in my Bible. For those who refuse to trust God because they don’t understand what He does and why He does it, these verses aren’t of much comfort. But for those who trust, they are as precious as the riches they describe.

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen”

Notice these final phrases. God owes us nothing—not even an explanation. We owe Him everything.

Job finally figures that out. His classic response? “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” After all the demands to present his case and convince God that He must have made a mistake, Job backs off. Apparently, he still doesn’t know what happened in heaven, but he now understands that he doesn’t need to. Such knowledge “is above his pay grade,” as it were. As we learn more about God and see God for who He is, the need to understand becomes less significant.

Psalm 131 is short, only three verses, yet it expresses what trust looks like through a familiar picture.

“My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quietened myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and for evermore.”

What do you need to do to put these verses into practice?

When we assume we are smart enough to go it alone, or when we trust something or someone other than God, we replace Him and transfer the glory that belongs to Him to ourselves or to something or someone else. This God will not tolerate. Isaiah 42:8 issues this warning: “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” When things are going well, it is easy for us to forget who should be getting the glory.

God knew that Israel would fall into this trap. As they waited to inhabit the land He had promised them, He warned them not to forget Him. After they entered the land, settled in it, and were enjoying all its benefits, they would be prone to thinking more of themselves than they ought. They were not to think that it was by their own efforts or genius that all these blessings had come their way. They were to remember Who had provided everything they were enjoying. Remembering in the good times to whom we owe the blessings of life helps us when unexpected and unpleasant circumstances come our way. When things seem bad, we are to remember Who will continue to provide everything we need, just as He did in the good times.

Proverbs 21:30 says, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” No human or Satanic wisdom can thwart God.

When we face adversaries or adversities in life, Paul reminds us in Romans 8:31, “What, then, shall we say to these things? [hiking back to the promises of Romans 8:28, 29] If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Psalm 34 was written when David felt forced to pretend to be insane to escape danger. Yet he could write this song that seems to say that, despite that, everything was “just fine, thank you!” and mean it!

Read Psalm 34. How does David express his confidence in God despite the circumstances he was facing?

David writes that he will praise God “at all times” and “always.” He insists that God is worthy of glory and exaltation despite affliction. God has removed his fears, even if He has not removed those who try to make him fear. He knows the presence of God’s angels around him. He knows that God is good, that he is in a safe place, and that only God is to be feared, not those who pretend to be fearsome. The psalmist says that he lacks nothing, even though at the moment he is running for his life. He is committed to doing good, even though the world he lives in is certainly less than good to him.

David counts on God to hear him and to act against his enemies. He understands that, despite being “broken-hearted” and “crushed in spirit,” the Lord is near. He is certain that, at some point, God will deliver him. He knows he has troubles and will have more, but he is confident in this, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him for them all…” In the end, all will be restored to what it should be because the Lord will come to his rescue.

It seems like a contradiction, like self-deception, like denial. David does not deny he has troubles, yet he insists that everything is fine. He does not claim to control those troubles, but he believes in Someone who exercises His control wisely. That’s trust. That’s the long view. That’s believing that God knows what is best and that everything will indeed turn out for our good and His glory. David’s declaration echoes Paul’s: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [the “thorn”] away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’”^[iv]

Paul says, “…for Christ’s sake…?” How can this kind of trust, this surrender to God’s will in challenging times, and this joy despite circumstances be for the sake of Christ?

^{[i] Genesis 3:6}

^]ii]St Augustine, Confessions, Translated by R. S. Pine-Coffin, (London, England, Penguin Books, 1961), p 139-40

[iv] Norman P. Grubb, C. T. Studd, Cricketer and Pioneer, (London and Redhill, Lutterworth Press, 1933), p 164

^[^v] Isaiah 55:8, 9

^[^vi] Job 42:2-6

^[vii] 2 Corinthians 12:8-10