Bleed Between The Lines

In our lives we see people getting cancer, dying in car accidents, moving to new cities, having chance encounters in stores and we say that it’s all part of Gods plan, This plan involves pain ad yet God has plans “not to harm”, this plan involves complex human decisions and yet we supposedly have freedom of choice. These apparent contradictions come not from an inconsistency with God but in our lack of understanding in how God plans. When we plan, it’s based on an assumed list of events and our assumed ability to affect the outcome. When God plans it’s on the basis that he exists outside of the boundaries of time or reason. When we make decisions they are based on physics and pattern. God is the author of physics and pattern. God weaves his plan around us and one of my favorite examples of this is Jesus and his mother at the wedding. Mary tells Jesus that their out of wine and Jesus says, “dear woman, it is not my time” and then guess what she does, she tell some servant girls to do whatever he says. She didn’t care that he said no! She knew what Jesus would do if she just asked him. While this principal can be taken the wrong way many times we need to understand that this biblical example exists.
I want to take this idea to the end times. In regards to the day of the Lord, Paul writes “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”
It is God’s plan that the end times will come and the Earth will become evil and rebellious. This plan isn’t because God will cause us to be rebellious, it’s because we will choose to be rebellious. Therefore we can also choose to be righteous. I don’t see the end times coming in the near future because I plan to get on my knees and I’m going to pray for revival. As God’s people we need to see that it is the desire of God that all would come to Christ. We should pray that his grace will spread and that all will come to know Jesus Christ. Their are so many doomsayers in the Church that it is hard to see revival as an option sometimes but we the hopeful have God on our side. We are soldiers and Christ’s cause is our cause. Take a moment today to pray for revival and maybe the world will repent and we can see God’s visible reign again.