Inscrutable Ways

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

‘For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?’
‘Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?’

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:33-36

“Behold, God is exalted in his power;
    who is a teacher like him?
Who has prescribed for him his way?..

“Remember to extol his work,
    of which men have sung.
All mankind has looked on it;
    man beholds it from afar.
Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
    the number of his years is unsearchable.” Job 36:22-26

“Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
    or what man shows him his counsel?” Isaiah 40:13

“Who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?” Jeremiah 50:44

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16

There is nothing like considering the Almighty to put man in his place, nor His ways to correct a man’s intentions or redirect a man’s plans. The mighty David knew from his young days as a shepherd that his Lord held glory above the heavens. His son Solomon knew in his vast wisdom that the highest heavens could not contain Him. The scriptures reveal over and over the inscrutable, indescribable, immeasurable ways of the One who was, is, and always will be. (Psalm 8:1-6; 1 Kings 4:29-34; 8:27; 10:1-9; Revelation 1:8)

If we know God’s ways are perfect, we can embrace His every providence. We can receive what flows to us through His sovereign hands, whether by allowance or orchestration, as redemptive and sanctifying. We can accept the order He implements in our days and years as good. We can trust His interruptions as purposeful. We can expectantly seek His directions and trust His eternal purposes. As His ways are without fault, so are His timing, gifting, providing, and withholding. His righteousness, justice, and holiness are infinite and unchanging. His love exceeds the heavens, His faithfulness the skies. (2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 18:30; 36:5; 108:4)

Do we want to be fortified by these certainties? Are we plumbing the riches, wisdom, and knowledge of God? How? When? It doesn’t just happen at the snap of desire. What plan are we implementing? What specific time do we guard, what niggling distractions set aside, to dive deep in discovery and wonder of all He is and does? How consistently, systematically, and thoroughly do we read the Word? (Proverbs 2:1-11; Jeremiah 29:12-13)

Is there a friend with whom we could be accountable in study and memorization? In what regular community are we participating that lifts our sights and elevates conversation? Whom are we encouraging to know and marvel at God’s inscrutable deeds? How are we communicating, in word or action, what we learn and love about Him? (Psalm 34:1-3)

Lord, cause me daily to stop and consider Your wondrous works, and respond with vitality in praise, gratitude, selflessness, and joy, to Your highest honor. (Job 37:14; Romans 12:11)