From Him, Through Him, and To Him

How great are God's riches! How deep are His wisdom and knowledge!

О бездна Божего богатства, мудрости и всеведения!

Who can explain His decisions? Who can understand His ways?

Не объяснить Его решений! Не понять Его путей!

As the Scripture says, "Who knows the mind of the Lord?

Who is able to give Him advice?

Кто познял разум Господа и кто был Его советчиком?

Who has ever given Him anything, so that He had to pay it back?"

И кто дал Ему хоть что-нибудь, что Он обязнал вернуть?

For all things were created by Him, and all things exist through Him and for Him.

To God be the glory forever! Amen.

Ибо всё от Него, через Него и для Него! Ему слава вовеки! Аминь.

Romans 11:33-36  ~  Римлянам 11:33-36

These verses lead into chapter 12, which talks about offering our bodies as living sacrifices to God as worship and also about how God has designed each of us to be part of His body in a unique way ... something I'm still continuing to discover. And it's jaw-dropping amazing when God gives us glimpses of how He is bringing it all together, because He truly is beyond our comprehension!

But what I want to highlight from these verses is the concluding concept -- that everything is from God, of God and for God. Like many truths about God, I know this in my head, but I am continuing to learn how to transfer that knowledge into God-honoring living.

It is easy when you go to a job and get paid for the work you do, to think about it as something you deserve or that belongs to you because you worked for it. That's a natural human inclination, but it would be far better to recognize that even your pay comes from God and is a gift to be used as He desires you to use it - not as an entitlement.

For me, being an overseas missionary and having my financial support come from believers in the body of Christ reminds me that it actually is a provision from God. They are giving to support what I am doing because God has stirred in them to do so and has provided the means for it. So as much as I must thank them and share my appreciation for their service, I also must give the glory to God for His provision.

This then leads into the next step -- the practical demonstration of my understanding that everything I have is from God, provided through Him and intended for Him to do His work and be glorified. My comprehension of this has been greatly enlarged especially over the past month, but I can see how God has been teaching me all along...

Let me go back to the beginning -- my desire for full-time ministry came from God. I know that because I wasn't actively looking for it, but it came upon me suddenly like a flower opening to the sun. And although I knew that God was calling me to this, I didn't know what or when or how or where. And so, from the beginning, I have had to give it back to the Lord and ask Him to do with it what He will, to lead me where He desires me to go, to teach me what He wants me to learn, etc. Every time I receive a blessing I must turn that back into praise to God because this is from Him and through Him and to Him.

The apartment I live in now is a beautiful place that meets all my needs and more. It was exactly what I wanted, but I can't say that I deserved it. It is a blessing from God and so therefore, it must be offered back to Him to be used as He determines best. Because it isn't mine, and neither is anything else that I "own."

Please don't misunderstand me -- I do NOT have a perfect understanding of this! I still forget often and think of things in this life as "mine" and forget to give God the glory for some of the simplest things. But I am learning to offer back to Him every blessing that I receive and to use them to bless others, and the joy that fills my heart when I do MORE than satisfies my longing heart!!