William Cowper’s famous 1774 Hymn ‘God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform…’ says in stanza 5,
“His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flow”.
This hymn shows us that as children of God, our master has his way of ordering our lives to fulfil his purpose for our lives. We have a lot of examples in the scriptures to establish that, most of the time, our plans and aspirations do not go parallel to the one God has proposed for us. We tend to make our own plans; we run to God for help when they fail. This morning, let us all shift the paradigm and first go to God and ask him what he has concerning our lives and ask for his direction, and everything will fall into place. We may have ‘good plans’, but God’s plan and time are always the best.
King David was given rest through the power of God, and now he can dwell not in tents in camps but in a house because God has helped him to subdue all his surrounding enemies. David has been fighting for ages, and this is the time for him to dwell in a very comfortable house constructed with cedar. David was not comfortable dwelling in a very comfortable home, while the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of the Lord of Hosts, was dwelling in a tent.
David had planned to do something about this, but God had other plans. Prophet Nathan, like any other well-meaning person, realised the good that David had in his heart and encouraged him to go ahead with it, but that very night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, the prophet, to send a message to David.
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in?”
(2 Samuel 7:5) A further reading will show that God had plans for whom he has purposed to build a house for him, and that person was not David. God had a specific role for David and did not want him to arrogate himself to duties he had not given him.
Mortals cannot understand God’s ways. So, Isaiah 55:8-9 says,
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
David thought he had good plans, but God had a better plan. We may have good plans, but it is essential to know that God has a better plan and will make it bear when we stay in tune with him. The 1864 oil on canvas painting credited to Edwin Landseer says, “Man proposes, God disposes.” This clearly indicates that we can sit down and plan amazingly, but God will decide how things turn out.
God went on to give this message to Prophet Nathan to David, Dear people of God, this is a God who knows what he is about, and this is the reason why we must always rely on him for guidance and direction because his ways are mysterious, and he brings everything to a perfect end.
God is the one who gives us the strength to live according to the good news preached. The good news has now been made clear for it to be proclaimed to everyone everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith. This is the purpose and will of the eternal God. We have to know that it is all about God and not us; that is why allowing him to have his way in our lives is very important.
Mary was a virgin betrothed to Joseph, a man of the house of David. In the life of Mary, it was all about getting married to the man betrothed to her, living together as husband and wife, and raising a family like any other person in society, but God had a different plan for her and Joseph. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to inform her about his purpose for her life to be the one to conceive Jesus, the one to be called the Son of the Most High; he will be great, and the throne of his ancestor David was going to be given to him. Mary asked questions as to how this was going to be possible because she was a virgin, but God showed her that his ways are mysterious and that science cannot overturn anything he decides to do in the life of man.
My dear Christian friends, let us allow God into our lives, and we will begin to experience and know his plan for us. He did it in the life of David, in the life of Elizabeth in her old age, in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and will surely do it in our lives. All we need to do is allow him to move into our lives mysteriously. AMEN