The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"I Can. I Will"
How able is God to provide for our every need and be everything we require Him to be in any circumstance, condition, or situation? This able: "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth… By Him all things consist" (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:17).
How willing is God to provide for our every need and be everything we require Him to be in any circumstance, condition, or situation? This willing: "They crucified Him" (Matthew 27:35).
The God who merely spoke and created a universe vast beyond measure, complex beyond understanding, and beautiful beyond description can fill and fulfill every need of our spirit, soul, and body. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" asked the Lord of Himself, rhetorically. He allowed the prophet to answer, joyfully: "Ah Lord God… there is nothing too hard for Thee!" (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17). Yes, God can, by the power of His word.
The same God wills to be all we need Him to be, by the perfection of His heart. The cross of Calvary most confirms this truth, where our Heavenly Father willingly sent His beloved Son to meet our greatest need, namely, our alienation from Him due to sin (Ephesians 4:18). At the greatest cost to Himself, God made possible our redemption from sin and its consequences by imputing our sin and its consequences to the Lord Jesus. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21). Who can think a thought about the Lord of Scripture in this holy light without realizing the willingness of His lovingkindness? He gave His beloved to Calvary so that He might freely give Him to our hearts. Yes, God will, by the gracious goodness of His nature of mercy. "But My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
In God, "I can" and "I will" unite to reveal wonders of who He is and what He can do. We see His trustworthiness, which must result in our trust. Indeed, His faithfulness forever serves as the ground and the grace of our own faithfulness. To the degree we know God's integrity by Scriptural revelation, the Holy Spirit's illumination, and our history of faith will be the degree to which we find ourselves enabled to trust His willingness and ability to be everything we will need in both time and eternity. Long ago, a leper discovered the wonder of both glorious realities in the Lord Jesus, and we close with his joyous experience of the Lord's "I can" and "I will."
"And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed."
(John 1:40-42)
Weekly Memory Verse
And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
(I Timothy 1:14)
6733
6720
No comments:
Post a Comment