The Ways of God by Gary Rose

The way God works is amazing! Sometimes they take the form of a grand creation and other times are as simple as looking out for the needs of something as small as a sparrow. Here are some thoughts about the ways of God…

The Ways of God are very good!

  ¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  ² The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 

  ³  God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  ⁴ God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.  ⁵ God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. 

  ⁶  God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”  ⁷ God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.  ⁸ God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day. 

  ⁹  God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.  ¹⁰ God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good.  ¹¹ God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth”; and it was so.  ¹² The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.  ¹³ There was evening and there was morning, a third day. 

  ¹⁴  God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;  ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth”; and it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.  ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,  ¹⁸ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.  ¹⁹ There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 

  ²⁰  God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky.” ²¹ God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.  ²² God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  ²³ There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 

  ²⁴  God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.  ²⁵ God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good. 

  ²⁶  God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  ²⁷ God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. (emphasis added) ²⁸ God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  ²⁹ God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.  ³⁰ To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so. 

  ³¹  God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (emphasis added) There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. 

God made everything that we can perceive; from the smallest microbe to the most gigantic star. More than just their creation, God made their interaction with one another- the ecosystem, if you will. And God himself proclaimed everything to be very good!!!

At the pinnacle of his creation is the human race, for we are made in the image of God himself. We have dominion over all this world and the freedom to choose God’s ways or whatever we desire. God’s ways are good and ours sometimes are evil. But there is choice, so choose wisely!!!

The ways of God are mysterious

Romans 11 (World English Bible)

 ³³  Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! 
  ³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
  ³⁵ “Or who has first given to him,
and it will be repaid to him again?”

  ³⁶  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen. 

I do not know exactly how God accomplished creation, but I know that he did it! I am unaware of why God created, but I am glad that he did! And why he made humans in his own image is likewise a mystery!

Perhaps humans are not given the answers to many things because in the grand scheme of things- we just would not understand. Or, if we could know everything, maybe, just maybe we would think too much of ourselves and not give God the glory for being who HE is? I have no doubt that this would lead to rebellion and end in destruction!!!

The Ways of God are eternal

Ephesians 3 (World English Bible)

 ¹ For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,  ² if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you;  ³ how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,  ⁴ by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;  ⁵ which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;  ⁶ that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,  ⁷ of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.  ⁸ To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,  ⁹ and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ;  ¹⁰ to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,  ¹¹ according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; (emphasis added) ¹² in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. 

We are born, we grow up, then grow old and die. This is a FACT! God is eternal and with that status HE views things with an understanding that extends from the beginning of creation to an unknown depth of forever.

God worked with the Jews for centuries, with the infant church and within our own lives- from beginning to end. As different as a newborn baby is from a full-grown adult; so is God from his children- and probably even far more than we could ever imagine!!!

The Ways of God are revealed through his word

Matthew 3 (World English Bible)

¹⁵  But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.  ¹⁶ Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.  ¹⁷ Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

Hebrews 1 (World English Bible)

  ¹ God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  ² has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. ³ His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;  (emphasis added) ⁴ having become so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they have.  ⁵ For to which of the angels did he say at any time, 
“You are my Son.
Today have I become your father?”

and again, 
“I will be to him a Father,
and he will be to me a Son?”

God spoke to Moses and the prophets in many different ways; but to transform himself into to a human being, to experience everything a mortal can know is the most personal communication I can imagine! And he did it for me; to help me to overcome evil and to realize that I can be.

The Ways of God provide the power to resist evil

Matthew 4 (World English Bible)

¹   Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  ² When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.  ³ The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

  ⁴  But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” 

  ⁵  Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,  ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and,
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”

  ⁷  Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”

  ⁸  Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.  ⁹ He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”

  ¹⁰  Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me,  Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’” 

  ¹¹  Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.

Jesus was not a figment of some philosophers imagination- HE was a real person, who dealt with real problems in a real world. And from his confrontation with the devil, we see how HE overcame evil- with the word of God! God has given us this power too! Jesus knew what God the Father wanted him to do because he knew the word of God well enough to quote it. I think his example is encouragement enough for all of us to strive to both learn it and do it as well!!!

The Ways of God are a choice

Colossians 3 (World English Bible)

 ¹ If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.  ² Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.  ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  ⁴ When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.  ⁵ Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;  ⁶ for which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. ⁷ You also once walked in those, when you lived in them;  ⁸ but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.  ⁹ Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,  ¹⁰ and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, ¹¹ where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all. 

  ¹²  Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;  ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. 

  ¹⁴  Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.  ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 

We can be Godly or we can be sinful; we have a choice!!! Actually, it is more than a choice, it is an opportunity to rise above the things in this world that are obviously wrong (what God calls sin) and be the sort of person God wants us to be. Be the best you can be and do with God’s help. Go ahead, open your Bible and listen to what we all need to hear; LISTEN TO GOD!!! You will change- I promise!!!