“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT)
Make no mistake, God has a call on your life. So, the logical question becomes: What has God called you to do or be? Has He mapped out a strategy for you to get from where you currently are to where He wants you to go, or to what He desires you to become? The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
Have you ever tent camped with small kids? Inevitably, in the darkest point of the night you’ll hear this little voice: “Daddy, I need to…!” So, what do you do? You fire up the lamp and lead them to the bathhouse. Unless there are other lights, the lamp doesn’t show you the whole way to your destination, only the next step or two.
That’s very much how God works. Initially, when God asked Noah to build a huge boat, He painted the big picture, but as Noah began the project, God didn’t leave him to figure out the details on his own. He gave Noah explicit instructions, not only for how to build the Ark, but what to do during the storm and after the flood waters receded.
Being a human being, my sense is that even though Noah heard God’s words, he likely didn’t understand all that their meaning entailed, and how could he? He’s been asked to build a boat, but there’s no water nearby, nor has it ever rained. Yet, there’s no indication that Noah asked God a lot of questions. He simply accepted God’s directives and began to go to work building a huge boat. Unfortunately, we join him in not understanding completely what God has in store for us, but we also aren’t always as quick to respond as Noah was.
Likely depending on the assignment, the Lord may lay out His plans in full and whoever He’s speaking with understands and sets in motion God’s plans immediately. But that’s not been the case with me. Matthew Henry wrote: “Those who have the new Jerusalem in their eye must have the ways that lead to it in their heart.” That sounds wonderful, but what does that look like in my life and yours? Yes, of course, there are some similarities, but there are also differences.
David Jeremiah wrote: “Ecclesiastes 3:11 might be a summary of the whole Bible: ‘[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in [our] hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.’
This earth, God’s creation, is beautiful. Yet we long for more; we long for eternity, for the roots of humanity in Eden. But our longing requires walking by faith because we can’t know the details of God’s plan by our own efforts.”
You’ve likely heard the adage: “The devil is in the details,” but so is the Lord. Think of what might have happened if Noah had improvised on some of God’s instructions. What if he’d failed to seal everything correctly or not packed enough food?
The truth is, we never know exactly where what God is instructing us to do will lead, yet we must, with diligence and determination, make every effort to do exactly what God tells us to do, because often the details aren’t given until they’re needed.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 