“God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” I John
3:20
This verse is the context of condemnation and assurance in
Christ Jesus. However, as I was meditating on it, I realized that it can also
relate to what we are prone to base our decisions and actions on: feelings.
It’s so easy for me to shift my focus from the cross to what
I’m feeling currently. We all have desires and longings that are not wrong in
and of themselves and may even be from the Lord, such as the desire to go
overseas to spread the Gospel, the desire to pursue a certain degree or course
of study, the desire for marriage/family, etc. However, God’s ways and plans
are above and greater than all these.
His ways are perfect. We may have lofty, ambitious, and
terrific dreams, even ones that He has placed within us. However, they must
constantly be surrendered to Him. His plans are above our own.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah
55: 8-9
“There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless, the
counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” Proverbs 19: 21
“The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the
tongue is from the LORD…Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall
be established.” Proverbs 16: 1, 3
The word for “know” in I John is “ginosko,” meaning it’s the
most intimate, marriage kind of knowing. God knows every intricate detail about
His plan for us. We must trust that His will is perfect and that He will work
out His perfect plan for our lives in His own time and way. And even though we
may not understand why we are at the place we are at right now or why these
seeming God-birthed desires within us are not coming to fruition, He knows all things.
So, trust. Wait. Abide. Seek Him. And consume yourself without
pouring out your life for others.
“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard,
nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He
hath prepared for him that waits for Him.” Isaiah 64: 4
After all, it’s all about His glory, not our desires or
feelings. So the only way for Him to get glory out of us is if we yield our
wills completely to His so that His purpose would be accomplished in us. And
when His will and ways are given the preeminence, the result will leave us
speechless. He is worthy!
