Orange Moon Cafe "Character... Capability" Part VI "Always"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe...

 

  "Character… Capability"

 

Part VI

   

   A final thought about character and capability, returning to the original premise we considered at the outset of this series of messages.  Namely, God is forever who He is - "I am the Lord, I change not" - and He forever acts in accordance with who He is - "Thou art good and doest good" (Malachi 3:6; Psalm 119:168).

   Recall the words of the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane regarding the cup of sorrow, shame, forsakenness, and death He would soon drink: "O My Father, If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Matthew 26:39).  Certainly it was possible according to His Father's capability.  God could have easily and instantly rescued His Son by the power of His hand (along with twelve legions of angels).  However, the perfection of His heart made the rescue impossible.  Our Father had eternally purposed the cross of Calvary as our hope of rescue.  Indeed, those who taunted the Lord Jesus as He hung on the cross - "He saved others; Himself He cannot save!" - were absolutely right.  More than nails fastened the Savior to His tree.  The loving, righteous, and holy character of God kept the Lord Jesus there until He had made complete atonement for our sins in accordance with promise and prophecy.  Thus, that which was possible according to Divine capability was not possible according to Divine character.

   We do well to apply this to God's working in our lives and in the world.  We all wonder at His ways, and often struggle to understand why some prayers go unanswered, and terrible things go unchecked.  No thinking believer has not sometimes wondered with the Psalmist, "Why hast Thou forgotten me?  Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" (Psalm 42:9).  The details of our Father's answer are frequently not made available.  However, the answer that always applies is His character, His perfect character, and His purpose that proceeds from such spiritual and moral purity.  "As for God, His way is perfect" (II Samuel 22:31).  Everything our Lord has done or ever will do is the absolute best it can possibly be.  Thus, the moving of His hand or the staying of His hand eternally flows with the current of His heart.  All things will and do work together for good to those who love Him, and the hymn writer rightly proclaimed the truth: "We will understand it better by and by."

   In the here and now, we trust God's heart when we cannot understand His hand.  May the truth be ever engraved more deeply in our hearts regarding the purity of His integrity and character: no one has ever trusted the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and been disappointed for doing so.  And no one ever will because God always is who He is. Always. And He always act in accordance with who He is. Always.

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He."

(Deuteronomy 32:4)

Memory Verse

      "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 

(John 3:6)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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