God moves in a mysterious way

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.


Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.


Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.


Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.


His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.


Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

William Cowper 1774 

These are dangerous days.  Financial ruin has hit many of the big financial hitters - like rich Goliaths they lay beheaded in the dust.  War is seemingly all around and although in lands far distant from our own the reality presses in: we see Israeli and Palestinian mothers and children, fathers and sons, weeping and enraged in grief.  We see the smiling bestial callousness of African rulers and warlords spreading poisonous words of false comfort while their people die before their very eyes.  We see all this played out alongside the narcissism of the cult of celebrity on our news programmes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week... The ironies are endless, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watch it all is not easily dismissed.


Where is God?  Where is he in the midst of this troubled world?  In Britain a host of atheists have sponsored bus adverts that tell people not to worry, but to happily crack on with their lives, because God 'probably' doesn't exist.  That is trite nonsense and is forgetful of suffering, war and disaster in the world. It makes me furious, so too do trite answers of the Theist or the Deist.


The God of the Bible, THE GOD, who reveals Himself in Jesus Christ, is Sovereign over and within suffering - be it personal loss or global disaster He is Loving, Ruling, Right and Good.  We may not be able to work it out, but this hymn by William Cowper expresses our confidence well - we trust not in our perspective but in His, for the times of plenty and of scarcity too.  Pity the world were you or I God. Praise God who is God and rules this world in ways that are not subject to our imaginings of self-centred sense of justice and peace!  That He is inscrutable to us should, at a very deep level, encourage us!


"And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains." Mark 13:5-8