~~ Isaiah 55:8 (TNIV) ~~ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
by Carley Cooper
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I wonder sometimes if everyone has as many racing thoughts and odd questions running through their minds as I do; or is it strictly part of my Bipolar Disorder issues? Sometimes that can be depressing, or frustrating, or just plain overwhelming. The, other times it can take me to a place that’s rather.... ehhh... fun and interesting! The other day during a devotional time I read Isaiah 55:8 ‘“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” declares the Lord.’ It got me to thinking... again; about things that are different in my head than in God’s head. There are questions that I wonder about sometimes. Do other people wonder about the same things? Why do certain things have to be the way they are? For the life of me, there are some things I just cannot see a purpose for. Sometimes I wonder if God is just so busy that His mind is tired and He just doesn’t think about all the possibilities for a given option. Maybe there are times when the first solution that comes along is acceptable just because He wants to hurry up and finish a project to get it off His desk and crossed of His ‘To Do’ list. Maybe He needs a break. Ever wonder if maybe He needs some help?
Every job in this world has consultants of some kind. Whether you’re the CEO of the largest company in North America, the Prime Minister of Canada, planning your wedding, or running a Lemonade Stand in the front yard; there are people who you consult with to do your job to the best of your ability in order to benefit the most people. That’s because no one can know everything about any one thing. Our views and abilities are limited and clouded at best. No one can do it alone. We need help.
What if we could be God’s consultant for a while? Remember those times when you got to go to work with your parents for a day and sometimes, in some situations, you even got to make a small decision or two just so you could get a small glimpse of what it might be like to do that job. Well, since God is our Father, going to work and consulting with Him would be a little bit like that. Or maybe now you are the parent and you bring your kids with you to your work place on Take Your Kids to Work Day. Though most “Older” generations may not have done this on a regular basis as today’s kids get to do, I had the privilege of watching my Dad work often because he had been self employed for a great part of my childhood. When kids get to go to work with parents for a day it’s always educational, but it’s also almost always a lot of fun too! Well, unless your parent is a porta-potty cleaning person, or part of a crime scene clean up crew, or they’re the person who puts make-up on dead people. Then, I wouldn’t be so sure about the fun part.
OK, so what if God really let me work with Him for a day? Considering, I would have the power of God behind me (wouldn’t I?!) what rules would I change? What new rules would I make? If God gave me a little bit of free reign on my authority, I would make lots of suggestions that I ‘know’ would improve this world a lot! Truthfully, I didn’t have to think about this much. I knew right away what my lists would be. I’m sure that fact in itself must say something about me. Anyway, here are just a few things that I think would make this world just a little bit easier and a tad more comfy!
First, there are the things that absolutely need to go. They are outta here, gone, good-bye, departed, over; things that I ‘know’ this world would be so much better without:
- First and foremost is winter! Cold is just way too uncomfortable, and all that snow requires way too much clothes on your body all at the same time. I have a really big issue with wearing too many clothes. Walking around like a penguin should be reserved for the penguins only! Just sayin’! And deep snow is just not fair for short doggies!
- The next things to go, under my rule, in no particular order; would be long pants, processed foods, cancer, mental illness, footwear, mosquitoes, spiders, cats, punk and rap music, green peas, and panty hose.
Once I got rid of all that riff-raff stuff, then it would be time to spruce up the place. I think that need to pretty things up comes from my creative nature, and my Interior Decorating studies in the past. Anyway, to improve the world I think that:
- our hair should grow much faster and be able to change color without chemicals or artificial processing.
- we need natural make-up. I mean, no more shopping for cosmetics. It should come built into the skin with perfect shades of eye shadow and lipstick to match the rest of your skin tone, and perfectly matching to every outfit.
- the ‘rule book’ (AKA: The Bible) should make a point of stating that no person is allowed to leave the starting gate and head out into a life in the world without taking an abundance of common sense (some people seem to have forgotten to pack some for their trip through life!)
- bellys should be self flattening.
- boobs should be sag proof and self inflating, (or deflating if that’s one’s desire, though I can’t imagine I would pick that option myself).
- people such as teachers, nurses, firemen, policemen, veterinarians, and pastors should be the ones to get million dollar salaries; not actors, singers and athletes who entertain or play games for a living. Oh yea, and people who walk a bunch of doggies all at the same time should get a pretty hefty salary too. That’s an awesome talent!
- cheesecake should be a food group all by itself and be completely calorie free.
- everyone should be required to have some basic fashion sense! People... face it, sometimes there are some things you just should not be wearing!
- men should be required to have a clue when it comes to understanding women! Oh, and they should come with any prior programming for lying, abusing or cheating completely removed and replaced with Godly characteristics.
- every man should be required to learn how to be a good lover; come with a built in instinct to remember birthdays and anniversaries, and have desires to go shopping and to hand the remote control over to his wife.
- governments and big industry should be required to put what’s best for the people before profits; and they should be required to be honest.
- we should be required to equally share among all the people of the world all the food, water, money, knowledge, and medical resources; and all people should be treated equally with no abuse, discrimination or hatred.
- children should always be treated as super special treasures, and there should never be a doubt in their minds about how loved and wanted they are. Every child should grow up in an environment of positive thinking, encouragment, and to have the options to learn that they can be anything they want to be.
- we need to stop destroying our planet. We have to live here for a long time. It would be so much more comfortable and healthier if we keep it nice!
- we should stop fighting amongst ourselves. I am not convinced that war really has ever accomplished anything.
All our own rules, in our own minds, make a lot of sense; but the reality is that we are not in charge. God is perfect, so He does not need consultants. We like to make rules, thinking it doesn’t matter that we can’t see the whole picture. No decision or set of rules can properly be made and put in place if you’re basing it on an incomplete information. He has everything under control. His plan is perfect without one single flaw or loose end. It is organized and being executed perfectly according to how He intended it to be. God’s ways are not our ways. He does things for a reason. Whether we like them or not, or understand His reasons or not; He puts rules, restrictions, limitations, laws and guidelines in place for our own good. Each and every thing in this world has a purpose. Sometimes it takes a while to remember this when we’re in the middle of a trial. Pastor Henry at church has told us a thousand times “God does not waste ANYthing”. Yes... even mosquitoes and cats were put here by God... on purpose and for a purpose! So sooner or later we’ll see what those purposes are.
God gives us free will to choose to follow His rules, or not. He gives us choices for a reason. We can choose Him, or not; choose Jesus, or not; forgiveness, or not. But with each choice there are consequences. We learn the concept that the stove is hot and what that means by touching it. He can tell us over and over what ‘hot’ means, but until we experience ‘hot’, we don’t truly understand it. Without knowing the bad, we won’t truly understand good. Without the darkness of being away from Him, we won’t truly understand just how much we need Him and how great His love, grace and mercy really is.
In light of knowing these things about God’s perfectness, I can see that my ‘improvements’ may not be the quite so perfect after all. I also know that God has a tendency to let us do things our way if we really insist... but the catch is that we do it with own power. If He let me run the world for a day, He’s not likely to back me up with all His supernatural power. He would say to me “OK, so you wanna do it? You think you can do better? Go for it. Let me see what you can come up with. Get back to me and let me know how it’s working out for you.” OK, so that’s obviously a big mess waiting to happen for sure.
There is a reason for winter. I’ve been told it is to insulate the earth so that it can be prepared for rebirth in the spring. OK, so that’s a good thing, I admit. It still doesn’t help me feel comfortable in the cold temperatures or having to be bundled up in so many clothes, but at least I can be thankful that I have those clothes to put on and a warm home to go to. Not only that, but when it comes to too much snow, now-a-days doggies have muttlucks to wear! They’re a good thing...despite all the complaining that you’re dog will do! But I also admit that despite how much I prefer to be barefoot that footwear has its purpose. Self coloring hair, built in makeup, and perfectly agreeable well-behaving husbands would likely make things boring because we wouldn’t be as unique from each other. Whether I like it or not the belly and boobs issues are... well... ok, never mind; that’s a depressing topic and I would just as soon not talk about it.
We are an imperfect people living in a broken world, and God has set us on a need to know basis with information. Until we become like Jesus living with Him in an unbroken world we won’t find perfect peace, true equality, or calorie free cheesecake. Until then, in order to get there, we have to follow God’s rules; His way!
~~ Dear God ~~ Thank You Lord for Your perfect ways, thoughts, rules, laws, guidelines, love and protection. Thank You for not letting me do everything my way. Surely my whole world would be in a much bigger mess than it is already if Jesus wasn’t there to save me from myself. Please don’t ever let me live by my own rules. In Jesus name, AMEN.
