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 with 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.

by William Cowper

How many times have you seen God move in a mysterious way? If you're like me - the times have been countless. So many times I want so badly to understand His ways, but they're so far above me I cannot even begin to comprehend. 

I'm sure the disciples wanted to understand His ways, too. Matthew 14:22-27 is a prime example of His ways being so far above ours.  Jesus knew when He told the disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side of the lake ... He knew there was a storm brewing (He was Jesus, after all). He knew the disciples were going to face a huge battle, and He knew they would doubt; they would be afraid; they would mumble; they would wonder where He was. He knew all of that ... and He sent them anyway. Why? Ah, that little word ... it plagues our minds so often - or at least it does mine!

Sure enough, the storm that was brewing erupted into a massive storm. I often think of it being like a hurricane or maybe even a typhoon. I've been in both, and I can testify that neither are fun. The storm rocked their boat, flapped their sails and tossed them around like ragdolls. 

SIDEBAR:  Are you in the middle of a storm? I am! Are you waiting for a billboard to let you know God's still on your side? Me, too! Guess what?! Even with the signs (which I've been getting a lot of) - there's still the fear factor! Really! We've been in this funk all of this calendar year. I have screamed (inwardly) "Where are you, God? Did you just leave us in this mess to drown? Don't you care about us anymore?" And yet there are signs - literally. From out of nowhere, I will get a post from somebody that basically says "hold on". Somebody new will follow me on Instagram, and all of a sudden there's another post that says "God's got this." Or even better there will be one that tells me not to fear, not to doubt - that everything is turning around and there will be abundance and overflow! And I'm sitting here like "When, God, when?" 

Just like the disciples, I doubt. I fear. I cry. I throw a fit, I accuse God of not caring. And just like on the other side of the lake that stormy night He comes to me and says "it is I, be not afraid." 

Yes, His ways are mysterious. We will never understand them on this side of heaven, but be assured my sweet friends, He cares and will not let us down.