Job 42:1 says: “Job replied to the Lord, ‘I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘What is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.’Job “
I will admit, in the last few months, I have been discouraged by things in the news, changes in our country, and health concerns of my own. I am facing hip replacement surgery a week from now and all the uncertainties of how my life is about to change. I have probably pulled my last garden weed, (my yard I’ve tended looks a mess and I can’t do a thing about it), and I’m being waited on by my husband and daughter instead of my doing the things I’ve done for over eighty years. It’s hard to change roles, and it’s hard to watch the news and not get discouraged.
I’ve even taken a hiatus from writing. I’ve completed three anthology pieces, all about the war in Ukraine, but have put my book writing on hold. I read something like this today, and it is refreshing. This person says that we need to be astonished by life! I have often told people to look for the Godincidences, the great things that happen without our knowledge, just as the right moment, when God surprises us with His presence. But I love the word ASTONISHED.
When we look back at the Supreme Court decisions of the last few weeks, things I’ve prayed about for fifty-some years, and when I see people enjoying celebrating the Fourth of July in spite of the dangers of being in crowds, I think there are things worth thanking God for and knowing that without His Presence, these things would not occur. There is some sort of balance to life for the believer. While we might be discouraged by mishandling of finances by this administration, and today’s news about the corruption of selling our strategic oil reserves instead of using it for the American people’s relief of high prices, and when I hear of yet more mass murder, and the political rhetoric rams up to character tear-down and misinformation, I could get discouraged. That is, if I didn’t understand God’s sovereignty. He is bringing our nation, indeed, the whole world to its knees. It should not astonish us who believe in His direction for man’s lives and our rebellion against His principles.
Therefore, yes, today, answer my doctor’s question she asked yesterday. “How do you stay so positive? Don’t you ever get angry or stressed?” My answer, “No, I have my faith, and it is secure in the knowledge that God is in charge.” She responded that she is always stressed, and she wishes she could have faith. I’m still praying she will listen to Christ. She has my books. She is in my prayers. And then, Job spoke to me in this verse today. God knows His plans, and we, if we are sensitive to His leading, can see that His sovereign will is in place, and we have only to believe He will put tall hedges of protection around those He has saved to eternity where we will indeed be perpetually astonished.
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