When you endure affliction and the Lord says, “This thing is from me,” let it be a source of great comfort. Although your circumstances may be confusing, God is sovereign and all things work together in his plan. Put your trust in God and hold fast to him – you are wedged in the middle of his perfect will!
Sometimes the ways of the Lord seem so unreasonable.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I thought about this when I read 1 Kings 12. Now here’s the backstory: it’s right after the glory days of Solomon, when there was that big split between the northern tribes of Israel, and the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin who followed the line of David. The rift between these two kingdoms was filled with tension. And the son of Solomon down in Judah – his name was Rehoboam – watched as the traitor, Jeroboam, tried to set up his own kingship up there in Israel. Rehoboam was ready to mobilize a big army to go up against Jeroboam to the north, but the Lord says to him, “No. Don’t do it. Go home, everyone.” And then God says, “This thing is from me.”
Now, the people down in Judah must’ve been scratching their heads. I mean, this guy up there in the north was a rebel against the true God, he was a turncoat. He was against the line of King David. So how is it that God says, “This is my doing; this thing is from me?” Well, you can read the rest of 1 and 2 Kings to hear how the story turns out, but here’s my point, here’s what I want to say: sometimes God does things in our lives that seem utterly counterintuitive, unreasonable, senseless, and even absurd. I’m sure Rehoboam must have felt that way as he watched Jeroboam up there in Israel turn his back on God and set up despicable idols everywhere. To the people of Judah, the whole thing must have seemed illogical.
But, my goodness, haven’t I felt the same way? Like, right before I’m supposed to speak at this conference, I’m collapsing backstage in terrible pain, hardly able to put two words together in a sentence. The timing seems crazy. The situation, absurd. But I hear God say, “This thing is from me.”
Author and poet Laura Barter Snow shares reflections on this. She writes as though it were God speaking, saying, “When testing assails thee, and the ‘enemy comes in like a flood’ know that ‘This thing is from Me,’ that your weakness needs My might… thou hast not been placed where you are by chance, but because it is the place I have chosen for thee… Art thou passing through a night of affliction? ‘This thing is from Me.’… I have let earthly comforters fail thee that in turning to Me you might obtain eternal consolation… Hast thou desired to do some great work for Me? Instead, you’ve been laid on a bed of sickness and suffering. ‘This thing is from Me.’ For I wish to teach thee some of My deep lessons… Art thou crushed and weary? ‘This thing is from Me.’ I am giving thee difficulties for the reason that Jehovah thy God will bless thee.”
Wow. You know, when the Lord says, “This thing is from me,” let it be a source of great comfort. Because each interruption, for every weakness, for every great disappointment, remember your God is sovereign. His plans and purposes – although a mystery often – his purposes are good and right and true. So, friend, if you are feeling rejected or disappointed, troubled in spirit or frustrated and confused at what God’s doing, the Lord says to you, “This thing is from me.” So will you please trust him today, as the people of Judah had to do? Hold fast to his Word, because if this difficult situation that you’re in right now is from God, you know without a shadow of a doubt that you are wedged in the middle of his perfect will. Oh, and one more thing: I want to send you a copy of our Joni and Friends newsletter, so just go to joniradio.org.
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