The wisdom of God

There is something incomprehensible with God; the closer you get to Him, the bigger He seems. The moment you think you are getting Him; the moment you realize He went over your head. I think I will always be amazed at what God Himself says about His ways and ours: “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 (Isaiah 55: 8-9)”. As familiar as a verse like that is to us, I don’t think we often realize how far away from God we are in our thoughts and vice-versa. To help us in our understanding, let us look at a few examples.

The first example, which is also the example from which others flow is the salvation story. Our human thinking could not have birthed such a mechanism to save a dying world. Only God thought it was the death and sacrifice of His son Jesus on the cross that could bring sinners into the presence of God, declaring them righteous, giving them a new status. Only God could think that the saviour of the world would come in a manger, be from a simple family, be raised like a normal child, live a normal life, be insignificant to most as Isaiah reminds us that Jesus had nothing in his appearance that we should desire him (Isaiah 53:2), someone who blended with the masses, that is the very One who could save you and I. God whose wisdom is unparalleled had his plan before the foundation of this world, and every detail of it was to happen as He had designed. It is right for our human minds to not understand how a loving God would send His one and only son to die in the place of enemies. How can one take his most prized possession and sacrifice it for the benefit of others who might not even appreciate this great gesture? This is simply marvelous, and it goes against all that we know and think in our society today. Our thoughts are not His thoughts.

The second example I want to use stems from the love of God and how He consistently showered it on His people. In the book of Ezekiel, the Lord reveals Himself in one of the most powerful ways He has in the bible. He appears to Ezekiel in a vision, the vision itself is a mixture of terror, awe, wonder and difficult to fully describe to our limited physical selves. I would encourage you to go read it for yourself and meditate on it as it is breath taking (Ezekiel 1-4). However, what is striking in that vision is that, after revealing His Glory so powerfully to Ezekiel, you would expect Him to remain up there, to strike the rebellious people immediately, yet that is not what God does, instead, He summons Ezekiel with a word for His people. A God that is above any god, whose power is beyond what our minds can fathom, the One who crushed defiant nations, the One who created the world with His word, He who makes all things, decides to stoop so low, to the level of man, in order to beg Him to receive His love. What manner of love is this indeed? Where else has such a level of humility been displayed in our world today? This would never happen in our culture, the powerful humbling himself to beg for the vulnerable? It makes no sense to us! Again, another reason why our thoughts are not His thoughts.

The third example is still linked to salvation and it is specifically about the means of salvation. How God chose to make known of His plan through men and not any men, men that society deemed unfit; men who had no degrees or pedigree for the most part; local men, low life men; men who did not stand out from the crowd; really, your every day guys. As Paul would say, men who were not wise in the eyes of the world. God use those to thwart the wisdom of the wise. It is through such people that God chose to spread the Good News to the nations. Would you entrust your most important missive to foolish men? Yet that is what God did and the result is astonishing! To God be the Glory! Through these three small examples, we see the wisdom of God which looks nothing like ours. Indeed, it is difficult to read the bible and not see how irrational it can be and how little sense it makes to our small brains. Further proof that God’s thoughts are nowhere near ours.

Today is one of those days where I am overwhelmed by the love of God and by His grandeur. I am overwhelmed by His wisdom, overwhelmed that He would choose to save me. Overwhelmed that my name is written in the book of the Lamb (Revelation 13:8 & 21:27). Overwhelmed that I did not do a single thing to deserve it, overwhelmed that in the midst of my disobedience I am still loved. How can it be indeed? It makes no logical sense yet that is what the blood of Jesus Christ, the son of God does to whomsoever would believe upon Him and receive Him. One day, we will be like Him, we will see eye to eye but until that day, with this limited mind and brain of mine, I simply choose to surrender and instead of leaning on my own understanding, I lean on His, I hold on to His word, His promises, in order to live like the righteous that is, by faith.