{"id":25652,"date":"2019-05-11T03:30:49","date_gmt":"2019-05-11T10:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=25652"},"modified":"2019-05-09T16:36:26","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T23:36:26","slug":"may-11-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/05\/11\/may-11-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"May 11, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cKnown to God from eternity are all His works.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Acts 15:18<\/p>\n

Known to Him<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I am in continuous wonder at God\u2019s shaping work in my life. To take just one example, He foreknew that I would be a writer. He set this up in my life back in the days of everlastingness\u2014back in the beginning of eternity, if there is such a thing. He knew it then, and He didn\u2019t only know it but He planned out the work of it.<\/p>\n

This is how He did it: When I was tiny and sitting on my mother\u2019s knee, I listened to the rhythm and melody of the words in a book as she read to me, and God stirred something in me. Then I learned to read and write, forming the letters and words. Next I saw that what I wrote mattered\u2014I could tell a story, and people would listen (not because the story was good, but because the people were polite.)<\/p>\n

Next came school written assignments resulting in teachers\u2019 praises. The lack of red pen marks on my papers told me something: I did it right. This built me up, but my parents made sure I stayed grounded. I had a rough patch in high school when my writing took on a weird exploratory bent, but thankfully it didn\u2019t last long, for it didn\u2019t glorify God at all. He pulled me back, and set me loose in a new direction, for which I am forever thankful.<\/p>\n

We learn in Romans 8:29-30 that God foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified us\u2014in that order\u2014to be conformed to the image of His Son. And so, I know my calling isn\u2019t exactly \u201cto write\u201d but to be conformed to the image of Jesus, that I may glorify God who did all this in me.<\/p>\n

God has always known the works He would do. Then why pray? Somehow our prayers please Him. It pleases Him to know that we seek Him in this way, acknowledging that the works are His\u2014these are things only He can actually do. \u201cIt is the LORD who does all these things\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Acts 15:17).<\/p>\n

When we pray, we ask Him to do what He already planned to do.\u201cYour will be done,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Jesus prayed. And what about when He doesn\u2019t do it\u2014when He doesn\u2019t \u201canswer\u201d our prayer? We keep praying\u2014\u201cPray without ceasing\u201d\u2014<\/em>and we will eventually come around to seeking His actual will, and we will see that come to pass.<\/p>\n

We usually WANT to do His will, of course, but even if we don\u2019t, \u201cHe devises means\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(2 Samuel 14:14) to get His works done. It is nothing for Him to go around us, or to go in a back door, or to unlock a door or heart or mind, so that His work is done.<\/p>\n

And frankly, wouldn\u2019t we rather have His will done than our own? He has devised His works in His perfect wisdom so everything turns out perfectly in His time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, Your works in us are too big to fathom, and we can\u2019t figure it out. We are just thankful that You included us and you use us alongside You to do the works. May we be open to the development of Your works in us that You already planned to do. In Jesus\u2019 precious Name. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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