To Whom Belong Wisdom and Might

“To whom belong wisdom and might” (Daniel 2:20)

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where you wonder what God is doing?  It is the time when you have to constantly remind yourself of his sovereignty over all of life. We thought we had everything taken care of but had other plans.  The good news is they are better plans.  God always has the best plans because he is the One “to whom belong wisdom and might.”

J.I. Packer defines wisdom as “the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.”  While we sit dazed and confused about what God is doing in our lives, we can rest assured that he has the best and highest goal in mind.  He is working all his plans according to his wisdom, not ours.  We have a short sighted view as to why life should work the way we think it should work.  But God as an infinite view of life which spans our entire existence that he is working out for our good and his glory.  The wisest thing we can do is trust that this is true.  He is also the only One with the power to see and choose those surest means of attaining the goal.  Power and wisdom go hand and hand.  Packer says, “Wisdom without power would be pathetic, a broken reed; power without wisdom would be merely frightening; but in God boundless wisdom and endless power are united, and this makes him utterly worthy of our fullest trust.”

The question for us is do we trust him?

What is revealed about our hearts when these times of crisis come into our lives is the fact that we really thought that we had things in control.  In my own life in see this because right away I want to fix the problems.  We turn into mystery solving trying to piece everything together to fit into the idea of how things should be in life.  But God is trying to teach us about his sovereignty.  He wants us to see that he had everything in control before the crisis and he is in control during the crisis.  He wants us to trust his character.  He wants us to see that wisdom is wiser and is power is stronger than our own.  This isn’t easy because we never see the end result until God says it is time to see the end result.  We may not get it during the crisis but when it is through there are so many things to look back on and praise God for his work.  It is amazing that he always has the best and highest goals in mind. 

Trust him.  It is that simple yet so hard at times.  We need to trust his character.  Sadly the reason most of us do not trust him is because of our lack of knowing him.  We need to be people of the Word.  He left us the Scriptures for the purpose of knowing him.  He sent his Son to die for the purpose of knowing him.  “For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son that whosoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life…And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 3:16; 17:3).  It is hard to trust someone we do not know.  

Grace upon grace,

JRL