Introduction
This might be the last Holiness post I do, but I hope this one will be as much a comfort to you as it has been to me. A couple things that stuck out to me from this quote were the sovereignty of God and the ultimate victory we have in Christ.
The Sovereignty of God (it’s all been predestined!)
‘He does all things well’. God is sovereign. One of the greatest hopes a believer can have in every circumstance is that God is orchestrating everything according to his preordained plan. He never makes a mistake, never is worried something will go wrong and never finds himself scrambling to fix something that should not be.
A while ago I entered a rigorous writing challenge. A challenge to write an entire novel in a month. I plotted out much of the story, created characters and felt I had done pretty well to prepare. But when the frantic rush of writing began and I got to working out the nitty gritty details of how the story played out, well... things did not go according to plan. At one point I got stuck because I hadn’t thought something through and a character's decision messed up my plot and left me almost despairing of completing the story, not to mention giving it a happy ending (please don’t ask me how this happens…).
Often it's easy to think(or at least feel) that this is how God as the author of history is working things out. He's trying to work things for good, he has promised he will and he probably will, but along the way there's a mighty mess that doesn't wasn't quite what he intended.
Thankfully for us, this couldn't be farther from the truth (God is not like me as I'm trying to write a story!).
(Isaiah 46:9-10)
remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
There’s nothing that has happened or will happen outside of his perfect plan. No one has ever made a decision that left God despairing of accomplishing his purposes. No wrong has happened outside of his sovereign decree. He does all things well.
Victory in Christ the good Captain (Shepherd)
The Captain of our salvation never fails to lead His soldiers to victory. He never makes any useless movements, never errs in judgment, never commits a mistake. His eye is on all His followers, from the greatest of them to the least. The humblest servant in His army is not forgotten. The weakest and most sickly is cared for, remembered and kept unto salvation. The souls whom he has purchased and redeemed with His own blood are far too precious to be wasted and thrown away. Surely this is good! - J.C. Ryle
Understanding of God's sovereignty really adds weight and meaning to quotes like this. We can know that this is no just a sweet, meaningless saying, but a declaration of reality. If Christ has all the power, he will most certainly fulfill all his promises.
(Isaiah 40:10-11)
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
(Deuteronomy 20:4)
for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’
Christ truly loves his people and is leading them in their fight against sin, against the world and against the devil. In everything that he does he has a purpose. In everything he is leading even the weakest of his sheep to victory. He is our tender shepherd as well as our mighty captain.
(John 6:39)
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
(Jude 1:24-25)
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Not one will be lost. Imagine that. So we can know that if we have been redeemed whatever comes into our lives comes from our Shepherd's hand and has a purpose. We can know with certainty that we are on a triumphant march to glory.
Leaning on Christ
This is so immensely comforting to me. But furthermore it forces us to the realize that we are utterly incapable of victory on our own and completely out of control of our lives. Christ loves us to rely completely on him; in fact he commands it. He truly never makes a mistake, why would I want to rely on myself? We should look on Him, remember him as our sovereign King, victorious Captain, and tender Shepherd and rest, knowing that because of him victory is certain.