²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Acts 17:26-29 (ESV)

Oh, the questions we ask God sometimes.

Why am I here?

Why didn’t this or that work out?

Why can’t I manage to open this door in my life?

How did this happen?

What do I do now?

All good questions. When we find ourselves in a place in life we do not want to be in – circumstances our our making or through no fault of our own – honest reflection and self-examination is good to avoid life’s pitfalls from happening again. (Wisdom is always good, and life’s best lessons are many times hard learned.)

The problem is often – no, I’ll go out on a limb here and say usually – when we ask these questions of the LORD, we are asking the wrong questions, for the wrong reasons.

We miss the point.

The point is this: God is sovereign.

¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:16-17 (ESB)

We need to always remember this: whatever we face, God knows.

Our hopes and dreams – God knows.

Our hurts and failures – God knows.

Our fears and worries – God knows.

Our needs, our weaknesses, our past, present and future – God knows.

And, being sovereign over all He created means the LORD is not bound by time or space. Wherever you have arrived in life, God is already there.

And He knows what you need. He knows how to see you through. He knows what’s best for us, and what isn’t. He knows when we’ve tripped and fallen. He knows why life isn’t fair.

And, for us, knowing this – that our Heavenly Father Who loves us with a depth our minds cannot fathom, is sovereign over all – is far more important and significant than any hurt, loss or shame we experience.

It doesn’t matter where you are. God is there. And Jesus is where our focus needs to be. Not on ourselves. Not on our failures. Not on our shame or pain or suffering. True strength, real success, comes from faithfully, patiently waiting on the LORD. He knows what we need far better than we do.

And He can take you where you are, as you are, and doing an amazing work in you. We are here to serve God and others, to set an example of faith in Christ, to surrender to Jesus and let Him do as He wills in our lives.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

by Chris Courtney

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. – James 1:17 (ESV)

Sometimes the world seems to be spinning so fast, it feels like it could wobble right off its axis in an uncontrolled free fall. It’s easy to get anxious these days. Turn on the TV and the horrors around us play out before our eyes. Shootings, political leaders who seem to have lost their minds, COVID variants, supply chain issues, inflation, rumblings of wars, racial tensions… where does it end?

The simple truth is this: what we see, what we think is going on, what we hear and see in the media… none if this is the whole truth. Only God – the Only One Who is omniscient – knows the whole story behind what’s going on this world.

In our lives.

In this unsteady world, we have our Steady, Never Changing Heavenly Father. In Him we can trust. His Word is the Word of Truth. His promises are trustworthy because only He is trustworthy. Despite all the chaos swirling around us, we can stand firm and strong in God and His Word. Regardless of how hopeless our earthly situation may seem, we have Hope in Jesus Christ.

Edward Mote knew this. Born in London in 1797, Mote came to know the Lord at age 18. Long before his days in pulpit ministry (he became a pastor at age 55), Mote spent thirty-seven years as a cabinet maker. One day, on his way to work, Mote had an idea. He explained, “One morning it came into my mind as I went to labour, to write an hymn on the ‘Gracious Experience of a Christian.’:

And that is exactly what he did.

Mote titled his hymn “The Immutable Basis of a Sinner’s Hope”. We know it today as “The Solid Rock”.

Edward Mote knew well in Whom he could place his trust, in Whom he could rest. And he expressed his faith in far more beautiful words that I ever could. Soak in this wonderful verse. Let it fill your soul with the love, grace, mercy, and peace of the Lord our God, Who loves us beyond comprehension. And worship The One Who knows all, created all, and sustains all.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

—Edward Mote (1797-1874)