Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? (Isaiah 40:13-14 NIV, 1984)
Golf is an unpredictable game. We can put our very best swing on a golf shot only to have it hit a sprinkler head and bound out of bounds. Or another shot hit off the toe of the club somehow miraculously hits a tree and comes to rest in the middle of the fairway. Unpredictable and frustrating. A lot like life sometimes.
To call life unpredictable is probably an understatement. To say that God is in control all the time is often a stretch of our intellectual ability to understand. So, what can we know about God’s ability to control our circumstances? Is he really in control or is that an illusion we have created to make ourselves feel better? The answer to that question lies in our conception of who God is.
The prophet Isaiah in our Scripture passage today points out some very interesting ideas about what we can do and what God is actually like. Can we instruct God as a counselor to him? If we can, we are smarter than he is. How does God know the right way? Do we know better than he what the right way is? If that is true, we must know more than he does. Who taught him to understand everything? Can we get him to understand us and our situation better than he already does? If we can, then he must not be as strong as we are.
Unexpected things are part of our training.
Since we live unpredictable lives, we need a predictable God. One who knows everything and is wiser, smarter, and stronger than we are. The prophet Isaiah knew that God is not limited as we human beings are. He asked these questions to point out that our God is totally wise, has total knowledge, and understands everything without being dependent on any outside source. He sees the big picture and understands the ultimate purpose of everything that happens in our life. He is also unlimited in power and loves us without restraint. If you compare those facts with our ability, it seems that trusting in his ability would be the smartest course of action in every unpredictable thing that happens to us.
God often allows unpredictable things to happen to us because he wants us to trust his sovereign will for us—a will that always looks to our best good. We as believers are in training to fulfill God’s greater purpose for us. Unexpected things are part of that training.
If we are to improve as golfers, we have to learn to accept the unexpected. If we are to grow as believers in Jesus, we will need to do the same. God has never been taught by anyone and controls everything. He is not bothered by the unpredictable because he sees it before it happens and knows exactly how to work it out for his best purposes for us. We can move into the future not knowing what might happen, but with the assurance that we have not escaped God’s watchful eye over us. He is never caught off guard, even when we are the recipients of something totally unexpected.
—
Linda Ballard
May 6, 2021
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