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Working WITH Predestination
joyful1:
:D Hi everyone--
Acts 9:5
5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
"pricks" in Easton's 1897 Dictionary:
Goad an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen...The expression .. "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks", i.e., against the goad, was proverbial for unavailing resistance to superior power.
I find myself "kicking against the pricks" every day of my life! I do this in a variety of ways, but mostly by complaining and worrying!
Once Paul understood WHO he was talking to, and WHAT was expected of him....he complied....immediately with the Father's will. But then there's me (Joyce), with a pretty good idea of what is expected of me and certainly full knowledge of WHO I am talking to ....and I don't seem to have the common sense God gave a donkey....I STILL argue with him! ("Oh who will deliver me from the body of this death?")
In all of our trials and tribulations...God never seems to be any great big hurry!
I kept thinking: Paul MUST have been frantic, after experiencing what he did that day....HE NEEDED AN ANSWER AND HE NEEDED IT RIGHT THEN!!! But God tells him...go to the city and you'll get your answer there.
Now, here's the picture that comes to mind for me when thinking on these things....
An older, more mature grandfather can sit and unravel a tangled fishing line better than his hotheaded impatient little grandson. Why is that? I think it is because He "knows HOW to give good gifts to His children." The more wise and patient grandfather, ignores his fidgeting little grandson, wipes the sweat from his own brow, adjusts the straw hat to bring in a little more shade, then patiently proceeds to untangle the line. HE KNOWS the wonderful feeling that will come with a good catch....HE KNOWS that this will give his grandson a good feeling of providing food for the family meal tonight....so he PATIENTLY gives this gift (of catching a fish) to his grandson.
He also LEADS his grandson THROUGH the pain and agony of watching some of the most horrible of life's experiences....hooking bait, setting and cleaning mouse traps, burying the family pet, gutting a deer....all necessary to the survival of the family....all horrible experiences. It is also the grandfather's gift to his grandson to lead him through these things and teach him not to fear....regardless of what happens.
PREDESTINATION to me....is God knowing HOW to give good gifts to His children...
Matthew 7:11
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
He takes care of us! There is no need to worry about tomorrow....it has a certain amount of "predestined evil" so to speak...in it....but that is for TOMORROW.....NOT for TODAY....you've got His mercies which are "new every morning" to take care of the evil for TODAY....so stop worrying about "TOMORROW." His mercies will be new again in the morning....get some sleep!
And there is also no sense in "looking back" and regretting all those things that happened "back then"....WHATEVER HAPPENED....HAPPENED BECAUSE IT HAD TO BE THAT WAY, it was predestined to happen the way it did, as hard as it is to understand that sometimes....at least, this is my understanding at this point. There's no sense regretting what HAD to HAPPEN.
In allowing patience to have her perfect work in you.....(and I'm trying to do the same)....we should begin to experience a greater ability to WORK WITH not AGAINST that which is predestined for our lives.
Your thoughts on this?
My apologies for the length....
Joyce :)
Deborah-Leigh:
My thoughts....totally inspired!
Here is what stood out for me. quote : ....to lead him through these things and teach him not to fear....regardless of what happens.
What comes to mind is dear Shadrach and Co. They were cast into the fire set seven times higher! Abraham took three days to journey with his son with the instruction to sacrifice him...what went through that heart? Mine would have been tormented beyond recognition....
In my life, God is showing me some equivalent things, well so it feels. So the admonition to recollect that His Mercies ARE NEW EVERY morning is wonderful and to get some sleep. Well that applies to me!
Thank you for a beautifully inspired and encouraging post.
Peace to you Sister
Arcturus :)
Kat:
Hi Joyce,
--- Quote ---He takes care of us! There is no need to worry about tomorrow....it has a certain amount of "predestined evil" so to speak...in it....but that is for TOMORROW.....NOT for TODAY....you've got His mercies which are "new every morning" to take care of the evil for TODAY....so stop worrying about "TOMORROW." His mercies will be new again in the morning....get some sleep!
--- End quote ---
Mat 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).
If someone is killed they die and go to the grave, unconscious of anything. It is the same for all that die, their spirit goes back to God that gave it (Ecc. 12:7) to keep it. Now our soul is as good as destroyed-abolish-perish in the grave and if it were not for God resurrecting us all from the grave, it would remain there.
Mat 10:29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
I think a sparrow could be considered one of the smallest and most numerous of birds, very cheap too. So if God is concerned with every single one of these little creatures, how much more is He concerned for us?
Mat 10:30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
It seems such an insignificant things how many hairs we have, but it expresses that if the least of matters in our life is regulated, then everything else in our lives must be of greater value.
Mat 10:31 "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
With God watching over us so carefully, indeed why should we fear?
This is such a good thing you have shared :)
mercy, peace and love
Kat
Little Joe:
Joyce,
I truly liked everything you said. I need not add anything to it, just that God having everything under His plan really takes the load off, don't it! ;)
Peace
joyful1:
:D Right, Little Joe! That is what brought JOY back into my life! :D
Thanks Arcturus and Kat for your comments! Predestination is one of the most difficult things for us to accept. And yet, the Father knows each of us better than we know ourselves....He knows what MUST be done...
Joyce :)
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